The Stakeholders And Challenges Of Managing Physical Infrastructure In Urbanized Villages In Nigeria

Abstract

The provision and management of urban physical infrastructure has remained the responsibility of the three tiers of government in Nigeria, namely federal, state and local governments. Despite this, there are other stakeholders in the sector including international and local organizations that fund the development of infrastructure, host communities, traditional institutions and the using public. The research investigated the role of these stakeholders in the task of managing urban physical infrastructure. Many urban centres in Nigeria are conglomeration of villages statutorily merged into urban centres which are at a disadvantaged position in terms of provision of physical infrastructure. The research identified infrastructure finance, privatization, public-private partnership and community participation as the strategies adopted to developed urban infrastructure in Nigeria. Out of a total of 400 copies of questionnaire distributed to users of public infrastructure, 366 questionnaire representing 91.5 % were properly filled and returned. The result revealed that a total of 124 respondents representing 34% which is more than one-third of the total respondents opted for Public-Private Partnership by concession (PPPc) as the best management strategy It is concluded by noting that notwithstanding the process of urban growth, no pragmatic development can take place without the availability of wellmanaged and functional infrastructural facilities.