(Re-Engaging) The 'Tyranny' Of Process In Participatory Development Programming In Africa: Fadama In Nigeria As A Case Study

Have the World Bank's avowed inclusive strategies metamorphosed into renewed forms of 'tyranny' over local beneficiaries of development interventions? This article's qualitative analysis of Fadama's local beneficiaries' experience reveals how rules, procedures, strategies and processes designed for results can culminate in difficulties for the intended beneficiaries, stifling social, economic and political empowerment. The research found that a form of depoliticisation was implicit within Fadama's participatory implementation strategies and processes, which, in the view of this author, is not accidental. Participation here, as James Ferguson contends, serves an 'anti-politics' machinery role designed to remove politics from development planning agendas and to keep them strictly technocratic and problems-based, thus limiting beneficiaries' possible critique, even of the project's governance structure or broader public institutions. This article contributes to on-going discussions about enhancing meaningful participation in development planning as a prelude to improving the prospects of advancing social change.