Thesis Abstract

This project report studied community participation and rural development in Nigeria, from 2012- 2014. The study has both broad and specific objectives. The broad objective is to determine whether communities in Nsukka local government area participated effectively in community rural development. The specific objectives are as follows (i) To ascertain the extent of community participation in community development in Ihe-Owere. (ii) To determine whether the problem of inadequate funding hinder Ihe-Owere community from participating actively in the development of their area. The human development theory was employed as the theoretical framework of analysis. The research design used is theshort case study (XO), cause and effect, dependent and independent variable relationships. Random sampling technique was used to choose two hundred men and womenfor the study. The research used both qualitative and quantitative method of data collection. Basically, primary data was used for the study. The primary data was collected through the use of direct observation, oral interview, and administration of well-structured two hundred questionnaires.The study utilized percentages, tables and figures to test and analyze the data collected. The major finding of the study includes; Ihe-Owere community has not participated effectively in rural development of their area. Inadequate funding is found to be one of the problems that hindered active participation cum proper development in Ihe-Owere, Nsukka LGA. Hence, we recommended among others that, the community must be empowered economically by the government and should be given an opportunity to identify its own problem, design its own solutions, implement the solutions and monitor and evaluate every activity on an ongoing basis without undue interference of any sort.

Thesis Overview

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

According to Nnoli (1993), the Nigeria economic and socio-political development, especially at the grassroots and community levels has reached a dead end, precisely because it is not built around the people. Even the government established agencies, as well as foreign donors and non-governmental organizations who took part in the implementation of the programmes have come to realize that the development vision, programmes and strategies pursued, ended up being inappropriate and even irrelevant to the real need of the vast majority of the people (Yusif, 2008). Perhaps, that is why the Agricultural development programmes funded by the World Bank, such as water, electricity, roads and health, among others in Nsukka LGA of Enugu state could not yield a fruitful result. A critical analysis of the above mentioned projects show that they contributed little to the welfare of the bulk of small peasant communities in Nsukka LGA. In the recent endeavor to overcome the problems of the community will enhance success in promoting rural development through community active participation becomes very imperative since it is the community that knows the basic needs of the people and what possibly need to be done and how to overcome such problems. These include those of poverty reduction, empowerment, provision of motor able roads, clean and portable drinking water, rural electricity among other basic needs such as health related programmes and sanitation.