THE CHALLENGES OF INDUSTRIALIZING LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

Edo state is one of the states in the south south region in Nigeria. The state is known as the heartbeat of the nation. The living condition of people in some rural areas in Edo state is quite disturbing because these rural areas are endowed with natural resources ranging from timber, rubber, etc but the state government has not been able to explore these economic advantages in order to increase industrialization in these rural areas. It is against this background that the study examined the challenges of industrializing local government areas for development in Edo state (study on Uhunwonde, Orhionmwon and Ovia North-East local government areas of Edo state). The study adopted the survey research design, utilizing both primary and secondary data from questionnaires and existing literature. The simple percentage analytical method was used as a tool for data analysis. The findings revealed that the living standard of local inhabitants can be upgraded or improved by the presence of industrialization in these rural communities. The inability of government support towards rural industrialization has been identified as one of the contributing factors to the increase in the rate of poverty in the local government areas under this research work in Edo state. The study also found out that lack of policy implementation as regard industrialization growth and development in rural areas has led to massive underdevelopment in these rural areas. Therefore, it is recommended that government should endeavour to provide rural infrastructure as is being identified as a major tool in the facilitation of industrialization in these rural areas, proper implementation of rural industrial policies should be taken with all seriousness and supervision of rural industrial projects should be done regularly.