Of The Impact Of Informal Financial Institutions On Community Development In Igede Area Of Benue State

Abstract

Even though successive governments in Nigeria have declared rural development a priority, unfortunately, all the strategies and institutions created or established to carry out rural development have not met the expectations of the rural populace. The result is the migration of the young and able bodied people to urban areas where infrastructural facilities like electricity, portable water, good roads and educational facilities among others abound. It is thus, the realization of the lack of these facilities in rural areas and the inability of the government to enhance the living conditions of the rural dwellers that the people therein have taken it upon themselves to establish non-governmental institutions to promote rural development. In the Igede area of Benue State, rural dwellers have thus, decided to establish informal financial organizations in order to generate funds to meet the individual and collective needs of their members. It is the assessment of this effort that this paper examines.


JORIND Vol. 3 (2) 2005: pp. 38-41