Basic needs in rural Nigeria

Rural poverty which persists in Nigeria despite the prosperity created by the country's oil wealth is evident in the difficulty experienced by many in satisfying their basic needs for food, water and shelter. The lack of these basic needs has held up rural development in Nigeria. This paper highlights the need for adopting a basic needs approach to rural development. It suggests that the basic needs should be identified for each community in recognition of the fact that the priority of needs differs according to the people's socio-cultural conditions. It is observed that if the priority of needs is not sorted out with the people, the government may be involved in spending money on rural development projects that least satisfy the people's needs. The phases of determining the basic needs with the people are examined. The paper concludes that at every stage of development people do know what their needs are and they can be relied upon to determine their own priorities of development and then work for them.