Reported by Weng Patrick Atokor l Journalist at Weng Global
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has called for stronger collaboration with traditional rulers and community leaders to improve food security, create wealth and strengthen economic development at the grassroots.
SMEDAN Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Charles Odii, made the call while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Ulefunta Annual Lecture in Akure, Ondo State.
The lecture, held at the Obafemi Awolowo Auditorium of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, focused on the theme, “Food Security, Wealth Creation and National Development: Building Strategic Partnerships between Traditional Institutions and Intervention Agencies.”
Odii argued that development interventions designed without sufficient understanding of local communities can struggle to achieve their intended impact. He said traditional rulers and community leaders possess knowledge about local customs, land use, economic opportunities and community challenges that can be valuable to government agencies when designing and implementing development programmes.
Why SMEDAN Is Looking to Traditional Institutions
The call reflects a broader question about how government programmes can move beyond policy announcements and reach people in rural and underserved communities.
Traditional institutions remain important channels of community mobilisation in many parts of Nigeria. Their involvement can provide government agencies with access to local networks and information about communities, particularly in areas where formal government structures may have limited reach.
According to reporting on Odii’s address, traditional rulers could help mobilise residents, facilitate access to land and contribute local knowledge to development initiatives.
For programmes focused on agriculture, small businesses and rural enterprise, such local knowledge can be particularly relevant.
SMEDAN’s own programmes illustrate the importance the agency places on grassroots economic activity. Its One Local Government One Product (OLOP) initiative is designed to identify and promote products or industries based on the resources, skills and economic potential of individual local government areas.
The agency says the programme is intended to stimulate employment, economic activity and improved livelihoods while helping local businesses develop technical, business-management and market-access capabilities.
Food Security and the Rural Economy
Food security is closely connected to the strength of local agricultural economies.
Nigeria’s farmers and agribusinesses operate across communities with different climatic conditions, land resources, production systems and market opportunities. A national programme therefore has to account for significant differences between local economies.
SMEDAN’s Agri-business Development and Empowerment Programme, for example, is aimed at supporting agricultural production, processing and marketing while improving productivity, food security, employment and rural economic growth.
Traditional rulers could potentially contribute to such efforts by helping agencies understand local agricultural conditions and connect programmes with communities.
However, collaboration alone does not guarantee successful development outcomes. Effective implementation also depends on funding, infrastructure, access to markets, technical assistance, transparent selection processes and monitoring.
SMEDAN’s Expanding Grassroots Strategy
The latest call also comes shortly after SMEDAN entered into a formal partnership with the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).
According to SMEDAN, the September 2026 agreement is intended to strengthen delivery of MSME development programmes across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
The partnership provides a framework for identifying entrepreneurs and businesses at community level and connecting them with government interventions, financing opportunities, training and business-development support. OLOP is among the programmes identified for grassroots implementation.
The development suggests that SMEDAN is increasingly focusing on the challenge of getting enterprise support closer to communities rather than concentrating implementation at the national or state level.
Traditional institutions could become another layer through which such programmes engage communities.
The Bigger Development Question
The significance of the SMEDAN proposal extends beyond the relationship between one government agency and traditional rulers.
It raises a wider issue in development planning: how can national policies be translated into practical economic opportunities at community level?
A government may establish a programme nationally, but its success can ultimately depend on whether farmers, entrepreneurs and households in individual communities can access the resources and opportunities being offered.
This is particularly important for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which often operate within local markets and communities.
SMEDAN describes itself as a one-stop institution for MSME development, with a mandate that includes providing access to knowledge, funding, tools and markets to help businesses grow.
Its programmes include enterprise development, agricultural support, women-focused initiatives and local production schemes.
The challenge is therefore not simply creating programmes but ensuring that information, financing, training and market opportunities reach the intended beneficiaries.
Traditional Rulers as Community Connectors
Traditional rulers occupy a distinctive position within many Nigerian communities.
Unlike government agencies that may interact with communities primarily through formal administrative structures, traditional institutions often have longstanding relationships with residents and knowledge of local social and economic conditions.
That position can potentially make them useful partners in areas such as community mobilisation, agricultural initiatives, local enterprise development and public awareness.
But such a role also requires clear responsibilities and accountability.
Government programmes involving traditional institutions would need transparent procedures to ensure that access to opportunities is based on clearly defined criteria rather than personal connections.
The effectiveness of the proposed partnership will therefore depend not only on whether traditional rulers are involved but also on how their involvement is structured and monitored.
From Policy to Grassroots Results
The central issue is implementation.
Nigeria has numerous initiatives designed to support entrepreneurs, farmers and local economies. The difficulty is often translating those initiatives into measurable improvements in production, income, employment and market access.
SMEDAN’s existing programmes provide examples of the mechanisms available.
Its OLOP programme seeks to build local economies around products and industries that reflect local strengths, while ADEP focuses on agricultural production, processing and marketing.
If traditional institutions are effectively integrated into such programmes, they could help bridge the gap between government agencies and communities.
That could include helping identify local economic opportunities, communicating programme information, supporting community mobilisation and helping agencies understand local challenges.
The results, however, would ultimately need to be measured through tangible outcomes such as increased production, stronger businesses, employment creation, improved incomes and better access to markets.
What Happens Next?
SMEDAN’s call places traditional institutions at the centre of a broader discussion about grassroots development.
The agency is already pursuing partnerships designed to extend enterprise support into local government areas, while its programmes continue to target agriculture, local production and MSME development.
The next step will be translating the proposed collaboration with traditional institutions into specific programmes, responsibilities and measurable outcomes.
For communities, the significance will ultimately be determined by whether such partnerships produce practical improvements in access to finance, agricultural productivity, business support, markets and employment.
The debate over the role of traditional rulers in development is therefore not simply about giving traditional institutions a larger role in government programmes. It is about determining how local knowledge and community structures can be incorporated into development planning while maintaining transparency, accountability and measurable results.
For SMEDAN, the challenge now is to turn the call for stronger collaboration into practical mechanisms capable of delivering economic opportunities to the communities the agency is seeking to reach.
Weng Global – Stories beyond borders
Sources
- SMEDAN — official information on the One Local Government One Product programme.
- SMEDAN — Agri-business Development and Empowerment Programme.
- SMEDAN — partnership with ALGON to strengthen grassroots MSME support.
- New Telegraph — report on SMEDAN’s call for traditional rulers’ inclusion in development programmes.
- Independent Newspaper Nigeria — report on Charles Odii’s Ulefunta Annual Lecture address.
