THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS IN FACILITATING GRASSROOT DEVELOPMENT FOR EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Religious institutions are usually agents of human capital development and often serve as instrument of transformation particularly at the grassroots level and so religious institutions are faith based organizations who are non state actors that have a central religious or faith core to their philosophy, membership or approach. However, while some are skeptical because of some dangerous antecedents of propagating abnormal ideologies, indoctrination, violent extremism, radicalization, mass hypnotism, as well as abuse of fiduciary relationships, others admit that religious institutions have been in the forefront of delivering social services and pressurizing the government particularly at the indigenous level to push for developmental and poverty alleviation projects at the grassroots. In the light of this, the paper conceptualized religious institutions as well as local governance stating the theory adopted. Qualitative technique was employed and the findings from this paper revealed that religious institutions have made significant and complementary impact in providing services to the rural areas particularly where the local government presence is not felt. Some of which include welfare assistance, humanitarian services, pushing for socio-economic justice, providing health care needs for the elderly and educational sponsorship for the less privileged all of which contributes in enhancing grassroots development. It therefore concludes and recommends that Policy frameworks should be established wherein structures should be put in place where all religious institutions will have a whistle blowing mechanism in which the followers and staff can report sermons or activities encouraging criminality, religious genocide, violence, corruption and other illegal and exploitative actions capable of destroying the prospects of grassroots development.