Matric No : 170903010
Name : Ayomide Olokodana
Course Code : Pol 328
Course Title : Government and Administration of Urban System
Topic: Discuss the Urban city nearest to you. Explain the various functions of the agencies in
the urban city and suggest remedies to improve on their working condition.
In developed or advanced countries such as Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United
States of America etc urban cities are measured in terms of industrialisation and economic
developments. This is in contrast to that of developing States like Nigeria, Ghana and most
countries in the third world. Urban cities are measured in terms of size and population. In
essence there exists a difference between an urban city with regards to if the country is
developed or developing.
An urban city is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built
environment. Most inhabitants of urban areas have non agricultural jobs. Urban areas are very
developed, meaning there is a density of human structures such as houses, commercial
buildings, roads, bridges, and railways. Settlements with 2,500 or more inhabitants are often
regarded as urban.
The Urban city nearest to me is Surulere, an area located on the mainland of Lagos State,
Nigeria. As at the last census conducted in the year 2006, there were 503,975 inhabitants in
Surulere. Using the population metric of classifying an urban city, the area such qualifies to be
regarded as one. Located at the heart of the mainland, it borders Yaba, Mushin and EbutteMetta respectively. In more recent times Surulere has evolved into being one of the most
notable cities in Lagos state. It's a hub for commerce, residence, tourism, education, real estate,
sports and a whole lot more. Surulere alone has two stadiums, hence the reason it is dubbed
“the sport city of the nation”.
Urban administration according to Fabiyi (2017) is a branch of public administration designated
for ordering, re-ordering, regulating, and controlling urban systems and urban land uses for the
purpose of human comfort, convenience, urban esthetics or city’s branding, and economic and
environmental sustainability.
It is pertinent to note that Nigeria as a country has a handful of urban cities but these urban
cities do not have their own administration apart from Abuja which is a federal capital territory.
The state government is the tier of government that is saddled with the responsibility of
administration in Urban cities. The state's government working in hand with the local
government create agencies which in turn administer the urban cities.
Surulere has various agencies responsible for overseeing the smooth running of its day-to-day
operations. Some of the functions performed by these agencies include but are not limited to :
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Construction and maintenance of public conveniences : In the Urban City of
Surulere, this is done by members of the Local Council Development Area (LCDA). They
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work hand in hand with the State Government to provide modern infrastructural facilities
for the residents.
Naming of Streets: Every street under the jurisdiction is named and a sign board is put
in place for proper direction for pedestrians and motorists.
Maintenance and regulation of market and slaughterhouses : This is carried out by
representatives from the local government, they charge market fees based on stalls and
ensure everything is in order.
Provision and maintenance of public parks :
The establishment of hospitals,dispensaries and maternity centers : Health care
centers are established by the administration to administer first-aid treatments, polio
vaccinations to children and so on.
Registration of birth and death : Through the National Population Commission, every
new born is registered, likewise every death.
Provision of street lights,potable water etc :
Despite all these numerous functions highlighted above, several challenges and obstacles
plague the administration and prevents the smooth running of operations. Some of these
obstacles are :
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Inadequate Finance : Unfortunately, the State Governments has taken over some of
the functions of the Urban cities administration especially those that have to do with
revenue collection and fail to remit the funds to them. This has resulted in the local
administration being perpetually broke and always finding it difficult to pay their workers
and carry out basic projects like providing social amenities.
Undue interference from theStateGovernment due to lack of autonomy : The State
Government literally controls the Local Administration and hence has the powers to
manipulate the running of its affairs.
Corruption : This is the bane of the Nigerian democracy from the top to the bottom.
Monies meant for payment of the salaries of the employees are siphoned and a lot of
ghost workers are in the payrolls, financial figures for projects are inflated and most of
the Chairmen rule with an autocratic and parochial attitude and tend to favour some
parts of the council over others.
Poor leadership: Most of the Local Government Chairman and Councillors are not
qualified for the positions they occupy. Most of them get into these positions either by
appointment or blessings of their political godfathers to reward them for their loyalty and
service.Most of them do not know what it takes to run their offices and have little or no
communication with their governing councils and spend most of their time in their
respective State capitals as opposed to their base of operations.
Unqualified and undedicated workers : It has the highest number of unqualified
personnel in its payroll. A lot of cronies are inserted as workers even without having the
required qualifications to fulfill their respective roles, the workers can often been seen
lazing about and coming late to work which drastically reduces the efficiency of the
administration.
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Meagre Salaries : The remuneration of the workers are not encouraging, some are even
delayed allowances accruing for several months.
Having mentioned some of the problems that prevents the optimal running of the administration,
it is pertinent to suggest remedies that can improve their working conditions.
Firstly, proper provisions should be made to enable the administration to be self-sufficient
without having to rely constantly on the Federal and State government for funds. The state
government should be made to remit all funds due to the local administration and desist from
encroaching on its functions and operations.
Furthermore, Nigerian politicians should understand that integrity, due diligence, accountability
and service are qualities that they ought to possess to lead the people to the “promised land”.
All forms of corruption,selfishness,embezzlement and discrimination should be shunned.
Residents of Surulere and Nigerians at large should be given the right to vote for suitably
qualified candidates instead of having greedy and unskilled politicians imposed on them.
The era of election manipulation whereby one party owns all the seats should be consigned to
the past. This is not just wishful thinking, the citizens also have an active role to play. All eligible
citizens should shun voter apathy. During the recent local government election, voter turnout
was at its lowest, as some wards even registered below 100 votes. This low political
participation will only give room for the election of a candidate who may not necessarily have
the best interests of the people at heart.
The workforce of the local administration should also be reduced drastically because the
number is simply staggering and uncalled for. Most of the workers are idle and not really
needed but are just there as favors to political allies. Standard tests should be administered to
the employees on a regular basis to assess their competence and qualifications for the role they
occupy. Adequate measures should also be put in place to ensure the workers are properly
disciplined for late coming and shirking off their responsibilities with strict sanctions placed on
them.
Conclusively, all hands must be on deck to ensure the smooth running of operations in the
administration which will in turn facilitate development. It’s a gradual process that requires the
genuine efforts of all stakeholders to achieve maximum efficiency.
REFERENCES
https://www.oecd.org/gov/budgeting/43412680.pdf
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/urban-area/
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview