Community Participatory Development in Nigeria: Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

Community participation has long been associated with community development. The success of every project depends on the active participation of the community in designing, implementing and sustaining the projects that affect their condition of living. The paper examines rural or community development in Nigeria with emphasis on the institutions, agencies, policies and strategies employed to bring about the much-needed rural development in the country. It goes further to assess the impacts of the various efforts made by both the domestic and foreign governments and international organizations, institutions, agencies and non-governmental organizations to bring about real development at the grassroots level. In an attempt to do this, clarification of concepts like community, development, rural areas, and rural development was carried out, which formed the theoretical basis of the analysis. The study employs the use of content analysis as a methodology and Participatory Theory is used as a theoretical framework of the study. The data for the study was generated from secondary sources. The paper reveals that top bottom approach, political deprivation, lack of enlightenment and awareness campaign and lack of proper educational empowerment constitutes the major challenges of community participation in rural development. The paper therefore, recommended that for rapid and sustained community development to take place, change of attitudes and orientation by all and sundry, realistic and enduring measures should be given priority attention, especially at the implementation stages.