Political Leadership and Road Infrastructure in Northeast Part of Nigeria. A Case Study of Buhari’s Administration 2015-2019
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The main objective of this study is to examine the Political Leadership and Road Infrastructure in Northeast Part of Nigeria. A Case Study of Buhari’s Administration 2015-2019. specifically, the study aims:
- Examine the decaying nature of road infrastructures in the north-eastern region of Nigeria.
- Assess the level of facilities and road infrastructures in the region.
- Study the implications of poor road infrastructures on the living conditions of the people of the region.
- And to advance with recommendations on the needs for road infrastructural development in the north-east region of Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual framework
Political leadership
Political leadership is one of the most widely experienced and intuitively or tacitly understood phenomena – like great power competition, Olympic rivalries, climate change, the right to develop, or central human rights controversies about trade-offs between security and civil and political rights (Masciulli, Molchanov, & Knight, nd). Most researchers on political leadership agree on certain elements that are necessary ingredients in the definition of political leadership. These element include: the personality and traits of a leader or leaders, including her or his ethical and cultural character; the traits and ethical-cultural character of the followers with whom the leader interacts; the societal or organizational context in which the leader–follower interaction occurs – general culture, political culture, political climate, norms, and institutions; the agenda of collective problems or tasks which confront the leaders and followers in particular historical situations (certain problems/challenges may elicit bonding between leaders and followers); the nature of the leader‟s interpretive judgment, (ability of the leader to interpret a given situation and act in such a way that meets the expectation of the followers); the material as well as intangible means that the leaders use to attain their ends and/or their followers‟ goals; encompassing the technique that leaders adopt to gain the willing support of their followers (Peele, 2005) Political leadership overlaps significantly with the higher levels of military, legal, organizational, and religious and ideological leadership, and is a special part of „social leadership‟ in general, as we contended above. The latter includes parental, business, educational, scientific and technological, athletic, medical, cultural, artistic, religious, and other forms of leadership (Masciulli, Molchanov, & Knight, nd). This is an all encompassing conception of political leadership, which captures the political leadership class of our discourse, going far beyond the elected and appointed public office holders traditionally recognized as political leaders in our society. This becomes very relevant in our present context as members of the political class who do not belong to the ruling party at the national level, instead coming together to work with the federal government prefer to politicize issues of national security, thereby negating the national interest on the altar of political expedience and forthcoming elections. Aransi (2009) brings forward the idea of differences between political leaders, in terms of their ability to perform according to expectations of the citizenry, and the determining factors of such performance. Aransi (2009: 119) writes that “the difference between two political leaders in the same position today rests relatively little on differences in policy direction and very largely on other behavior, which can be labeled „leadership styles‟”.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried out to examine the Political Leadership and Road Infrastructure in Northeast Part of Nigeria. A Case Study of Buhari’s Administration 2015-2019. All the Northeast states form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
Data Presentation
In order to carry out this research, a total of 320 questionnaires were self-administered by the researchers amongst the people of the 18 senatorial districts and 6 states of the north-eastern region of Nigeria. However, 300 of the questionnaires were retrieved which represent 95 percent.
Analysis of Interpretation
Percentage was used to analyze response to questionnaire administered and retrieved by the researchers.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the data which were collected from the respondents chosen and involved in this study from the 18 senatorial districts of the north-eastern region of Nigeria and analyzed by the researchers, the followings findings were made;
- There are Road infrustructure scattered across the various communities within the north-eastern region of Nigeria.
- Some of these Road infrustructure are rotten away due to negligence on the part of government in one hand and public attitudes on the other.
- Decaying facilities or infrastructural decay is pulling down and back, the economic development and growth of the people of the north-east region of Nigeria.
- Corruption among the people especially public officers which is resulting in shortage of fund to develop facilities and maintain existing ones is contributing to the prevailing decomposition of infrastructures across the region.
- There is urgent need for infrastructural development in the north-east region of Nigeria where 13.55% of the nation`s population according to NPC (2006) dwells.
- The federal government of Nigeria as well as the state and local governments in the north-east region have important roles to play in infrastructural development in the region.
However, in as much as the government is expected to actively involve itself in infrastructural development in this sensitive region of the country, other stakeholders or development partners must not only demonstrate their willingness to participate in this transformative process. They must also be willing to contribute expertise and funds towards the cause of infrastructural development in the north-eastern region of Nigeria.
Finally, the followings are the recommendations of this study:
- There is urgent need for government to commence on rapid infrastructural development in communities across the north-east region of Nigeria. Schools, hospitals, roads, water supply system, electricity projects that are collapsing should be rehabilitated. New ones should also come up to reduce the burden and over utilization existing ones are suffering from. In developing infrastructures to supplement the over utilization of existing facilities, standard must not be compromise at all cost. Infrastructures that are likely to withstand pressure and text of time must be developed as against sub-standard ones which can easily rotten and decomposed away quickly.
- Improve communication channel among the people of the north-east region should be intensified. This can easily be achieved through the construction of several roads to connect the various communities in the region together. Finding shows that majority of the people of the region dwell in the rural areas which are not accessible especially when the rains are here. There is no how life can be meaningful without standard connectivity and linkage promoted through the constructions of motor able roads to link people together. Collapsed culverts. Decomposed rural bridges as well as rusticated rural electrification projects should be resuscitated. Government must be willing to commit funds and the people-their time and other resources through community development initiatives are also needed to enhance infrastructural development in the region.
- Governmental policies in the area of infrastructural development should be designed to create conditions that would stimulate and encourage foreign partnership in the development of infrastructures in the north-east region of the country and Nigeria as a whole. Policies that would encourage development partners like World Bank, UNICEF, UNESCO, as well as other private organizations to participate in the development of infrastructures in the region are required.
- Poverty reduction and if possible eradication should be promoted and encouraged among the people of the north-east region of Nigeria. This can be made possible by adopting poverty alleviation policies and programs that would empower the people in the north-east region to be able to be self-reliant to an extent that they would constitute any threat to their own environment through their conducts of destroying the ecosystem that protect their environment and health at the same time. The establishment of light industries at the rural areas is also required to prevent drift to urban centers and constitute threat or burden to the inadequate infrastructures there. This would also result to job available at the rural communities across the region.
- Corruption must be shunned by political leaders and public office holders. Resources provided for infrastructural development must be committed to the course of developing facilities. Tribalism, nepotism, favoritism, religious and other sentiments must be prevented at all cost. Political elites, public office holders and the people of the region must be willing to be patriotic and demonstrate this in their efforts towards infrastructural development as well as the economic and general development of their region and nation in general.
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