This paper is aimed at examining the imbalances in the living
conditions of the urban and rural dwellers and the determination of the
rural poor to bridge this gap through self-help development activities.
The odds against rural development in Nigeria were rather immense. The
configurations of government plans were tailored strictly to facilitate the
exploitation of the natural resources of the rural areas for the
development of the few urban centres. Consequently, most of the initial
infrastructural development in Nigeria were skewed in favour of the urban
areas to the detriment of the rural areas where the majority resided and
inadvertently created a dualism. Since the government was “far” from the
rural areas in terms of development and with the realization that
government alone cannot provide all their needs, the people had to learn
to “do-it-themselves”. This alternative strategy of self-help and the
communitarian philosophy of the people has not only accelerated the level
of growth but has also spread the benefits of development to the rural
areas in Nigeria. However, where the government is properly playing its
expected role, self-help activities should complement rural development
and not replacing it.