Role of Effective Administration in the Rapid Social-economic Transformation of Nigeria
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
The aim of this study was to assess the role of administration in the rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
- assess the challenges, progress, and efforts of the stakeholders towards achieving socio-economic development in Nigeria.
- identify and evaluate the role of domestic financial institutions and public expenditure in the mobilisation of financial resources for productive investment to complement foreign investment in the development process in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The chapter deals with literature review on the concept of the role of administration in the rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. This involves various definitions of administration, governance, economic development. The review of empirical studies, theoretical review, theoretical framework and summary of literature review.
Conceptual Review
In this section, the basic relevant concepts were reviewed. These include governance, administration, among others.
Economic Growth
Economic growth involves improvements in a variety of indicators such as literacy rates, life expectancy, and poverty rates. In addition to increasing private incomes, economic growth also generates additional resources that can be used to improve social services such as healthcare, safe drinking water etc. (Jelilov, Gylych, Muhammad & Maimuna, 2015). Though it is often measured by rate of change of gross domestic product, it is generally understood in terms of increase in per capita income, and attainment of a standard of living equivalent to that of industrialized countries.
Economic growth connotes a sustained increase in a country’s national income (Jhingan, 1997). When the GNP rises eventually, it depicts a growth in the economy. Economic development encompasses progress in providing livelihood on a sustainable basis, access to education and basic healthcare for the majority of the population (Belshaw & Livingstone, 2002).
Good Governance
Governance is defined as the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources. The World Bank (2002) has identified three distinct aspects of governance:
- The form of political regime,
- The process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country’s government to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge functions.
UNDP conceptualizes governance as the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests‟ exercise their legal rights met their obligations and mediate their differences. Form, style, systems, methods and procedures of government generally reflect the pattern of governance in a nation or city. The quality and effectiveness of governance depend mostly on how judiciously the government uses the said instruments to help people achieve the ultimate goal of their progress – justice, equity and peace (IDPAA PRIA, 2001).
Governance means government plus something else: public policies, institutions, and a system of economic relationships or a role for the non- governmental sector in the business of the state. It implies government that is democratically organized within a democratic political culture and with efficient administrative organizations, plus the right policies, particularly in the economic sphere (Smith, 2007). The UNDP defined good governance as: “The exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs is the complex mechanisms, processes, relationships through which groups articulate their interests, exercise their rights and obligations and mediate their differences (Ncube, 2005).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Types and Sources of Data
Data and the literature for this study were obtained from secondary sources, the CBN statistical bulletin were instrumental in the collection of statistical information used in carrying out this research.
Method of Estimation
The study adopts an econometric model in determining the role of administration in the rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. The Generalised Least Square (multiple linear regression) model was used to evaluate the relationship between administration and economic growth in Nigeria.
The multiple regression model is stated thus; Yi = B0 +B1X1i + B2X2i + u Where; Y is the dependent variable, X1 and X2 are the explanatory variables, u is the stochastic error term, and i is the ith observation since the data are time series (Porter and Gujarati, 2009).
Model specification
The model specified in this research work is on the critical assessment of administration, its impact on economic growth in Nigeria from 1986 to 2018. In this study gross domestic product (GDP) is proxied for economic growth and is used as the dependent variable while government capital expenditure (GCE) and government recurrent expenditure (GRE) are the independent or explanatory variables.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESULTS
Presentation of Results
From the regression result, gross domestic product (GDP) was the dependent variable and proxy for economic growth while government capital expenditure (GCE) and government recurrent expenditure (GRE) were the independent variables. The regression results obtained are presented in the table below.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
This Research work was carried out to examine the relationship between administration and socio-economic growth in Nigeria. The study is in five chapters. In the first chapter, a general background of the study was undertaken. In view of the background, the problems of study were identified and stated, the research questions, the objective, scope and significant of the study were outlined and discussed.
Chapter two contains the review of various literatures on the concept of administration and the Nigerian economy. Also in the second chapter is the empirical and theoretical reviews. In the third chapter of this work, the type and sources of data, the method of estimation, model specification and evaluation criteria were all discussed.
In the fourth chapter, data collected were presented and analysed using regression method (generalised least square) to answer the research questions. After the analysis, the findings are as follows:
- Progress and efforts of stakeholders have been made towards achieving socio-economic development in Nigeria.
- Domestic financial institutions and public expenditure mobilise financial resources for productive investment to complement foreign investment in the development process of Nigeria.
Conclusion
This study has underscored the role of administration in the rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. Findings from this research uncovered that proper administration contribute greatly to the economic growth of a country. This is done through its role in development and increase in standard of living. This study is in consistent with the findings of Dennis Chiekweiro Uzoigwe (2007) which revealed that there is a strong positive relationship between the gross output of the agricultural, manufacturing and mining and quarrying sectors and labour input and public capital expenditure for the growth sectors. Also there is a strong positive relationship between the agricultural credit guarantee scheme, fertiliser and the gross output of agriculture. Furthermore, the findings show a positive impact of the structural adjustment programme with the agricultural and manufacturing production.
Thus, in the light of the foregoing, this study reliably concludes that development administration will influence the level of socio-economic growth. The findings of this study have clearly shown that increased improvement in development administrative practices would not only enable Nigeria to increase its productive base but also increase the standard of living of its citizen.
Recommendations
For economic growth to increase, government recurrent expenditure is important in Nigeria. On the strength of the observations and findings made in this study the following recommendations have been made.
- Domestic financial institutions should be made standard and competitive
- More public expenditure should be expended for productive investment in Nigeria.
- Government should come up with stable policy guideline to enable increase in production base of Nigeria.
Limitations to the Study
The study faced some constraints. They include insufficient literature material, financial constraint, and time constraint. However, findings made is valuable for policy implementation.
Suggestions for Further Studies
This study has researched on the role of administration in the rapid socio-economic transformation of Nigeria. Further research can be done on the following:
- Conceptual issues in development administration.
- Good governance as a panacea for rapid economic transformation and sustainable development in Nigeria.
REFERENCES
- Sharma M.P. Sadana B.L. Kaur Harpreet (2013): Public administration, In theory and practice. Marg Allahabad. Kitab Mahal
- Obasanjo, M. A. 2006. Budget Speech. Abuja: Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Iwuagwu, O. 2000. Imperative of Human Capital Development. The Nigerian Economic Summit Group. 6(3): p22
- Blignaut, J. N. & Parsons, R. 2005. Investing in Social Capital. Institutionalised Social Dialogue In South Africa. Academic Seminar Presented in the department of Economics, University of Pretoria
- Obadan, M. I. 2001. Budgeting for Economic Growth: The Challenge of 2001 Budget. The Nigerian Economic Society of Group. Occasional Papers Series. 1(1)2
- Abdullahi, A. 2002. Realising the Potentials of Agriculture in Nigeria. Bullion. Publication of Central Bank of Nigeria. Volume 26 No 1. January/March. pp.67-70
