Abstract:
Nigeria gained her political independence in 1960 but surprisingly sixty two years after independence, Nigeria is yet to achieve development prosperity. The situation calls for worry. Therefore this study was undertaken to assess the efforts made by successive regimes and administrations in Nigeria to list Nigeria among development nations. It would appear that development plans in Nigeria are more of politics and therefore lack actual implementation. The paper adopted documentary research methodology and many development plan- documents were critically examined to ascertain the areas of lacuna. After thorough interrogations of the reasons why the development plans and agenda failed in Nigeria, the author made some findings. Critical among the findings are that community development planning as conscious action of government at arranging and achieving certain social political and economic goals through some preferred means and procedures is imperative for a sustainable self- reliance in Nigeria. That although development planning is imperative for national development in Nigeria, the process is so extremely politicized. A case in point is the current agricultural development program. Development plans are nothing more than a well packaged interest of the geo-ethnic areas whose members dominate the federal government. That the past development plans failed to lead to economic development because the relevant critical economic variables and principle were not put into consideration in the choice and location of projects and industries. The author therefore recommended that development agenda should be properly funded and the implementers closely monitored by anti- graft agencies to ensure that the funds are not siphoned to private coffers.
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