Analysis and Critical Review of Rural Development Efforts in Nigeria, 1960-2010

The work took a hard and critical look on the past and present efforts of the Nigerian Governments on rural industrialization and development as a panacea to rural poverty in the country. Both empirical and theoretical examination and analyses of the chequered efforts of the previous and present administrations of the Federal Government of Nigeria indicates that “Bad Governance” and “policy inconsistency” had remained the bane of all attempts at rural industrialization and development in the country, thereby exacerbating the poverty level of the rural dwellers. Consequently, the work concludes by noting that rural development in Nigeria since 1960-2010 had remained a paradox, because the more efforts the government claims to make on rural development the worse the level of poverty in the rural areas turns out to be. It is advisable to point out that from the findings of the study, the best solution to tackling Nigeria’s rural poverty and development is for the present government in the country to ensure good governance and policy consistency which will tackle corruption at its roots in the rural communities in particular and the society in general. Key words: Rural development; Government; Programme; Nigeria