IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN DANJA AND BAKORI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF KATSINA STATE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

In order to ensure rapid sustainable development, the Nigerian constitution divides power among the three levels of government i.e. federal, states and local governments. Subsequently, responsibilities are decentralized to each of these governmental levels, each with its distinct areas of functions. However, due to their importance, certain areas need to be legislated on by both federal, states and local governments in order to provide as much services as required by the teaming Nigerian population. For example, health, education, water supply are the concurrent responsibilities of all levels of government. For this reason, Chapter 17 (3) (d) under Chapter II of the constitution makes it a fundamental principle of the state (government) to provide adequate medical and health facilities for all persons. Also, Chapter 18 (3) provides that government shall strive to eradicate illiteracy to the extent of providing free, compulsory and universal primary education. Moreover, under the Fourth Schedule, the Constitution clearly spells out the functions of local government to include among others, the provision of health and educational facilities. Under this Schedule, Chapter 2 (a) provides that the local government shall ensure the provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational education. While Chapter 2 (d) saddles the local government with the responsibility of providing and maintenance of health services.

Nigeria have had a number of policies and programmes initiated and implemented on rural development right from the past Military Regimes to the present Democratic Republic. We have had, in Nigeria, the Directorate for Food Road and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRRI), Mass Mobilization for Social Justice and Economic Recovery (MAMSER), National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), State Economic Empower and Development Strategy (SEEDS), Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS), Universal Basic Education Programme (UBE), the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) among others. Majority of these programmes and policies have been made to develop the rural areas and general grassroots. However the operations of these polices would have led to the presence of multiple projects that could have facilitated the general grassroots development.

Various rural development programmes and projects have, over the years been designed and implemented by international Donour Organizations, Such rural development projects are visible in most Nigerian rural settlements  especially in the aspect of social development. For example the UNICEF and WHO have been solely expending huge amount of resources towards improving the health status and educational development of the rural population. However, these international donor organizations in some cases, collaborate with the federal and state governments in Nigeria to help address rural development challenges. To be more specific, the work of World Health Organization is visible in the areas of preventive health measure. 

This organization (WHO) has, over the period of five (5) years i.e. 2017-2021, been able to administer routine immunization exercise to significant number of the people in the two local government areas. Data have shown that there has been an increase in the number of people immunized over the years in the two local government areas. In 2017, a total number of 128,404 were immunized. The figure rose to 161,962, 152,863, 172,963 and 173,991 in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively (National Health Management Information System (Various Years). On the areas of funding to educational sector, the expenditures of both local governments have over years been on the increase. For example, in 2017 total expenditure of Danja was N69, 586, 824 and it rose to N853,188,890 in 2021 denoting 22.6% increase, while that of Bakori was N71, 047, 393. However, the  data from SUBEB, Katsina State (various years) have shown that the enrolment figure of primary school pupils in Danja and Bakori Local Government Areas has not significantly increased (SUBEB, various years).

Given all this, the researcher is determined to undertake an investigation to determine what causes all these discrepancies. To help guide this study, we have the following research questions:

H0: There is no significant correlation between immunization exercise and rural development in Danja and Bakori Local Government Areas.

H0: There is no significant relationship between adequate funding of education and rural development in Danja and Bakori Local Government Areas.

Number of research work has been embarked upon by a number of researchers on issues related to rural and rural development. Majority of these work focused on the economic aspect of the rural communities, emphasizing mostly on agriculture and marketing of such agricultural products and how this affects income. However, this research work focuses on the social development of the rural communities in Danja and BakoriLocal  Government Areas. More precisely, the work explored how health and educational facilities in these local government areas induce level of human development and thus the general level of rural development in the areas in question. Therefore, this research work will be significant and unique in that, it will be able provide accurate answer to such questions like, how many people does we need to immunize to reduce health facilities‟ attendance to a certain level? What percentage increase of funding do we need to improve rural development to a certain level?.

In order to have specific focus for the research work, the researcher narrows down the scope of the study to social development aspect of the entire development. More precisely, the researcher focused on two areas of rural development which are health care services and primary education, because these are the most important determinants of social/human development in rural communities. The study covered the period between 2017 – 2022 i.e. only projects between this period were taken into consideration. And the areas  within which the study focused or narrow its analysis is Danja and Bakori local governments alone.

The number of each Facilities Development Committee were increased by local government from four 4 to six 6. Their duties were extended to the supervision of other facilities ie education water supply and sanitation in addition to their traditional responsibility of monitoring and supervision of primary Health Care Programme and projects. Also, the number of Ward Development Committee was increased from the then six (6) prior to 2016 to ten (10). In the same way, the responsibility of this committee has been extended to education and health issues. Therefore, the researcher chose the period in question under the assumption that this committee reform could improve the quality of social development facilities in the various communities.

Rural development, according to this research, refers to a significant improvement in the general standard of living of the rural populace with regards to the following:

A substantial improvement in the health status of the majority of the rural population which is measured in terms of the quality of health facility available in the rural communities. This is measured in terms of health facilities attendance, number of people immunized, and mortality rate in relation to attendance as well as patient referral out for a specific period of time. The rural area is therefore said to have developed with reference to the following indicators:

This refers to the process of preventing people from a disease or diseases by giving them an injection of a vaccine or other drugs. This is an important preventive measure towards improving the health status of people. An effective immunization exercise can lead to a significant reduction into the health    facilities‟    attendance    level    in    the    rural    areas.    An    effective immunization exercise, in this research, means a continuous significant increase in the number of people immunized of not less than twenty per cent (20%) average of the period of five years i.e. from 2017 to 2022.

This refers to the amount of money expended for the purpose of developing education facilities which will subsequently improve the knowledge and skills of the populace. Such amount expended could be in the area of provision of school equipments like desks, renovation of classrooms, building of additional classroom of even construction of more schools with the ultimate target of increasing the enrolment figures of the pupils in order to meet the demand of the increasing population of the nation. For this reason, expenditure on education should consistently be on increase in order to meet the aforementioned demand. For the purpose of the research, adequate funding refers to continuous increase of public expenditure of not than an average of 20% on education over the period of five (5) years i.e. 2017-2022.