The Impact of Civil Society Organizations on Sustainable Development in Developing Countries: The Nigerian Experience

Abstract

Civil society groups are agents of development in any nation. Civil society organizations appear to play important role in social, political and economic development activities. The transformation of any society or system, particularly the developing societies like Nigeria depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its civil societies. This paper critically assessed the impact of civil society groups, and its contribution to sustainable development in Nigeria. The paper also examines the factors impeding the performance of civil society groups in relation to national development. The paper adopts secondary method of data collection to source information. The paper concludes that the Civil Society Groups in Nigeria and other developing nations are bedevilled with series of problems ranging from political instability, disconnection from rural organizations, lack of unity, inadequate funding, government patronage, lack of internal democracy, lack of skills, corruption and lack of state support and partnership. It recommends that Civil Society groups need to be sanitized and strengthened so as to ensure effective service delivery through the creation of an enabling environment for their operation and that they should maintain a high degree of independence from the government.

Key words: civil society, democratic sustenance, economic development, policy evaluation.