DECENTRALIZATION AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA: RETHINKING SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA’S FEDERAL SYSTEM

Authors: Dr Bakari Muhammadu Sukare & Dr Umar Dauda Usman

ABSTRACT

Decentralization has long been proposed as a mechanism for improving governance, enhancing accountability, and promoting effective service delivery in African states. In Nigeria, a federal system was adopted at independence to manage diversity, distribute power, and bring government closer to the people. However, despite decades of constitutional decentralization, local governments often struggle to deliver basic services, reflecting structural, financial, and institutional challenges.

This article investigates the dynamics of decentralization and local governance in Nigeria, focusing on the capacity of local governments to provide public goods and services under the federal system. Adopting a desk-based qualitative approach, the study examines secondary data from government reports, policy documents, academic literature, and international governance assessments. Theoretical frameworks including fiscal federalism, decentralization theory, and public choice theory are employed to analyze the relationship between autonomy, accountability, and service delivery outcomes.

Findings reveal that local governments in Nigeria face persistent challenges, including inadequate revenue generation, political interference from state governments, limited administrative capacity, and weak citizen engagement. While decentralization theoretically enhances local participation and responsiveness, in practice it is often undermined by overlapping responsibilities, dependency on federal allocations, and weak institutional structures.

The study concludes that meaningful service delivery requires rethinking decentralization as a combination of fiscal, administrative, and political empowerment, supported by ethical governance and robust accountability mechanisms. Lessons from Nigeria provide insights for other African states seeking to improve local governance through decentralization reforms.

Keywords: Decentralization, Local Governance, Service Delivery, Federal System, Nigeria, Africa.

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