ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the National Development Plans that guided policy and activities between 1962 and 1985. The first National Development Plan, the second National Development Plan, the third National Development Plan, and the fourth National Development Plan, all had sets of objectives and saw varying degrees of success. The origins of planning for development in Nigeria can be traced back to 1946, when the British colonial administration introduced a “ten-year plan of development and welfare for Nigeria” using the colonial development and welfare fund. The federal capital expenditure program reflected the aims of the National development plan. The military administration under the leadership of Ibrahim Babangida abandoned the five-year development planning model and introduced the perspective plan, covering a period of 15–20 years. Assessment of the impact of the plan revealed that it failed to give priority to projects and programs that had direct impact on rural dwellers.
