1.1 Introduction
Administration is any action that is directed towards the achievement of defined goals. It seeks to analyze policies, identify options and proceeds to effective implementation of programmes using available resources including human or material. Administration is concerned with efficiency and could be rigid or autocratic in nature. It also encourages diversification, creativity and flexibility. It is a formulation of broad objectives, thinking function and decision making. Administrative development is a process which aims at empowering, enlarging, and making the structures of administration large enough and capable of enhancing sound decision making capabilities, skills and specialization, effective use of technology, eradicate corruption and promote development initiatives.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Administration in the general sense is usually described in terms of a cooperative human effort directed towards the achievements of agreed objectives. It is thus a social activity which can occur in a wide variety of institutional frame work. Administration in a political setting and, as distinct from other forms of administration, is concerned with the formulation and implementation of Government policies at the grassroots level, a branch of Public Administration.
Administration surfaced in academic debate in the mid-50s and could be traced to an Indian scholar Goswami (Dlamini, 2008). At the end of World War II, it was widely believed and advocated by scholars of sociology that the gains of development administration in the West could be replicated in Less Developed Countries (LDCs) through the transfer of administrative capabilities as well as intellectual enterprises capably of fast-tracking developmental process in LDCs (Sri, 2013). This development was also expected to bring about social change; which connotes transformation in various aspects of human life. It could be the society or an individual over a period of time (Weichold and Barber, 2009).
Development administration connotes the action of putting in place machinery for planning economic growth, gathering and properly disbursing resources to increase national income. Development administration is a goal-oriented concept which centres on how a country can achieve authoritative progress, be it social, economic or political. It is concerned with growth, change as well as socio-economic advancement (Rathod, 2010).
There are features common to varying kinds of administrative organisation and much administrative theory is relevant to all organisation, be it government or private. The Kaduna State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (KASEEDS) as a set of activities which are carried out by the officers, and which can be classified as/or concerned with planning and development of the area. The SEEDS is to help state governments to draw up and implement realistic plans to make NEEDS and each individual state’s SEEDS come true.
When SEEDS was launched, the National Planning Commission (NPC) issued a guidance manual entitled: The SEEDS Framework − “Government for Growth and Service”. This expanded version of that manual does not change the original guidance. It certainly does not mean that states which have completed their SEEDS documents need to revise them. Instead, the focus is on the SEEDS as a process: on how to take a strategy that has already been drafted through to action.
It is against this background that the researcher intends to assess the effective administration in the rapid socio-economic transmission of Nigeria.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that an analysis of government development administration in Nigeria unveiled unpolished and erratic practices. Very few government institutions in Nigeria have fully fledged Development Administration departments and even those few concentrate much of their efforts on politicking rather than professional Administration (Career Administrators). Their Administrative policies do not take cognizance of such factors as public wants, opinions and objectives.
Project planning and Development are usually undertaken without prior research, project implementation strategies are mostly handled by low level executives coupled with low budget, summarily Development Administrations in government parastatals are conducted haphazardly.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to assess the Role of Effective Administration in the Rapid Social-Economic Transformation of Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To evaluate the impact of effective administration on socio-economic transformation;
- To identify the problem of administration and proffer possible solution to overcome such problem; and
- To identify the role of Kaduna State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy in socio-economic transformation.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- How does effective administration impact on socio-economic transformation of Nigeria?
- What are the likely problems and solutions of administration in Nigeria?
- What are the roles of KASEEDs in the socio-economic transformation of Nigeria?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: Effect administration in KASEEDs does not have significant impact on national development.
- H1: Effect administration in KASEEDs has significant impact on national development.
1.7 Significance of Study
The following are the significance of the study which are stated as follows:
- The study will highlight the functions of KASEED and its role in National development. The study will inculcate and imbibe into the spirit of our KASEED officials the need to adopt an efficient and effective Administrative practices.
- The study would help in discovering certain problem areas in the Administration of KASEEDs and through this, recommendations will be made towards improvement.
- It is hoped that this research work will be of particular importance to students, Administrative Officers, executives, politicians and others that may find themselves involved in this field.
- It is also in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the awards of Higher Diploma in Public Administration.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the role of effective administrations in the rapid socio-economic Transformation of Nigeria. The study will cover the activities of Kaduna State Economic Empowerment Development Strategy vis-avis the transformation agenda of Jonathan/Sambo administration towards national development.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Administration: It is any action that is directed towards the achievement of defined goals. It seeks to analyze policies, identify options and proceeds to effective implementation of programmes using available resources including human or material.
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