Project Abstract

<p> </p><p>The study was aimed at assessing the extent to which community resources are<br>utilized in the implementation of community development projects in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. To guide the study, five<br>research questions were formulated with the intention of assessing the types of<br>community development projects that are implemented utilizing community<br>resources, the extent of utilization of physical, human and institutional resources<br>that are utilized in the implementation of community development projects in<br>Nsukka Local Government Area, and the extent to which factors militate against<br>the effective utilization of community resources in the implementation of<br>community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area. Also, four<br>null hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance and used to guide the<br>study. Descriptive survey research design was used. Simple sampling technique<br>was employed to compose a sample of 285 respondents from a population of<br>964 members of the registered community development associations in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area of Enugu State. The instrument used for the study was<br>a 45-item UCRICODEPQ structured questionnaire. The instrument was face<br>validated by three experts; one in measurement and evaluation and two in<br>community development, all from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Its reliability<br>was ensured using Cronbach alpha estimate. Reliability co-efficient of 0.81 was<br>obtained. Frequencies and percentages, weighted mean and standard deviation<br>were used in analyzing the collected data. A criterion mean of 2.50 was used in<br>judging the responses as to whether they were accepted or not. Copies of the<br>instrument were administered to the respondents through direct delivery<br>technique. Findings of the study revealed that community physical, human and<br>institutional resources were utilized to a moderate extent in the implementation<br>community development projects. All the four null hypotheses were rejected<br>showing that there were significant differences in the mean ratings of male and<br>female members of community development associations on the extent to which<br>community physical, human and institutional resources were utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area of Enugu State. Based on the findings of the study,<br>recommendations were proffered which included that both state and local<br>governments should come to the assistance of the various communities by<br>conscientizing them on the need to involve everybody in the implementation of<br>community development projects, and that Enugu State Government should<br>build-in core leadership programme in the community development<br>programmes through education empowerment.</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <br><p></p>

Project Overview

<p> INTRODUCTION<br>Background to the Study<br>Community development is a process of promoting better living for the<br>whole members of the community with the active participation and on the<br>initiative of the community. Oreh (2001) observed that community development<br>is a process undertaken by people themselves, with or without support from an<br>external body to improve their well being. This implies that both the<br>government and/or the people can undertake the initiation and implementation<br>of community development projects. Therefore, no matter who initiates or<br>implements the projects, the aim is to make life more meaningful for the<br>community members. As such, community development combines the effort of<br>the community members with the effort of the government or cooperating<br>outside body to improve the living condition of people thereby encouraging<br>development of various human potentials within the community (Chukwuezi,<br>2000).<br>From the fore-going, the community members can articulate their feltneeds<br>and actively participate in development process in order to bring about<br>positive change in their community. This is because community development<br>involves a comprehensive effort at overall human development rather than the<br>piece meal approach pursued by the community or the government. Community<br>1<br>2<br>development leads to unity among people living in a community for sustainable<br>development. It ensures that various related disciplines collaborate together to<br>carry through developmental projects. The approach to community development<br>is of immense benefit since the totality of human actions is not neatly separated<br>in such dichotomous disciplines rather there is over lapping of boundaries.<br>Community development, according to Onuigwe (2008) is a developmental<br>process embracing the effort of community members, self-help groups, nongovernmental<br>organizations, collective thinking, collective action and<br>participants. Community development projects cannot be undertaken by one<br>single person. It involves different groups of people in the community who will<br>help in one way or the other to ensure that things work out well in other to<br>achieve their stated goals. The implementation of community development<br>projects in a community cannot be successfully executed without the effective<br>utilization of community resources.<br>Community resources, according to Mkpa (1990) mean the facilities<br>within the community which can be used to promote community development.<br>Eze (1999) affirmed that there are three major types of resources that exist in a<br>community. They include physical resources, institutional resources and human<br>resources. These resources help in one way or the other in the implementation<br>of community development projects. Okwo and Ike (1995) stated that most of<br>the communities are naturally endowed with wealth of resources to enhance<br>3<br>community development projects. This means that there are available resources<br>in the community which help to promote community development projects.<br>The physical resources are usually referred to as natural and material<br>resources (Aina, 1982). The physical resources refer to those resources that are<br>found within the environment and can facilitate or enhance community<br>development. Examples of natural resources include forest resources, energy<br>resources and water resources, while examples of material resources are<br>artworks from indigenes, resources from communal land, and materials from<br>hand work.<br>Institutional resources, according to Mkpa (1990), involve the practice of<br>pattern of behaviour that serves the need of which the community has developed<br>a strong faith in as a desirable pattern of life. There are different types of<br>institutions. They are economic, social and religious institutions. Economic<br>institutions refer to institutions like market, factories, banks where financial<br>transactions take place e.g. factory tributes, bank loans, market tolls, payment of<br>land use, lease. Institutional resources contribute immensely in the<br>implementation of community development projects. In case of bank,<br>community members obtain loan from the bank and use it to engage themselves<br>in some economic ventures that will yield money for them, to solve their<br>personal and community felt-needs/problems. The community realizes a lot of<br>money from market tolls which is one of their major sources of revenue for<br>community development projects. According to Madu (2004), a social<br>4<br>institution refers to marriage, kingship, age grades, voluntary organizations and<br>town unions. The social institution that is very important to community<br>development is self-help institution like umuada, age grade, religious<br>organizations and market associations.<br>These institutions contribute immensely in implementing community<br>development projects in the sense that some social associations have singlehandedly<br>carried out some projects in the community. Such projects include<br>building of hospitals, schools, boreholes, maternity homes, electricity, among<br>others. They help in maintaining law and order in the community. Under social<br>institutions, communities get proceeds from hiring of their community chairs,<br>canopies, and civic centres. Also, donations from community members living<br>abroad are of great importance to community development projects. Religious<br>institutions, according to Mkpa are also sources of community development.<br>They are organizations that are primarily related to spiritual/religious needs.<br>Social services such as provision of welfare services by churches, donations<br>from church organizations are some the ways through which religious<br>organizations help in implementing community development projects.<br>These resources in the community help in one way or the other in the<br>implementation of community development projects, especially in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area. Oduaran (1994) emphasized that there are internal and<br>external sources by which a community can generate money which will help<br>them in the implementation of community development projects. In many<br>5<br>communities, the internally-generated sourced resources are utilized. They<br>include:<br>1. levies on the community members<br>2. voluntary contributions by community members.<br>3. support of wealthy community members.<br>4. sales of communal lands (if any).<br>5. contributions from children abroad.<br>6. proceeds from community income-generating projects e.g. garriprocessing<br>mills, rice mills, among others.<br>These internally-generated resources help the communities to use their own<br>resources in the implementation of community development projects.<br>Human resources, according to Aina (1982) refer to human intellect<br>which is the most important aspect of community resources. Ume (1987) stated<br>that human resources constitute the ultimate basis for resources. Human<br>resource is an important factor of production. Human beings are the active<br>agents who accumulate capital, exploit natural resources, build social, economic<br>and political organizations and carry out national development. Human<br>resources are grouped into formal leaders and informal leaders. The formal<br>leaders in the community are families, health workers, school teachers,<br>agricultural extension officers, social workers. Also, informal leaders include<br>voluntary youth leaders, reputed farmers in the community, experienced opinion<br>leaders as well as skilled people or professionals in the community. These<br>6<br>human resources facilitate greatly the implementation of development projects<br>in various communities including the communities in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area of Enugu State.<br>In Nsukka Local Government Area, there are 16 autonomous<br>communities. Only few of them are found in the urban areas. Others are in the<br>rural areas of the local government area. Mabogunje (1999) emphasized that<br>development is essentially a human issue as it is concerned with the capacity of<br>individuals to realize their inherent potentials and effectively cope with the<br>change in circumstances of their lives. Therefore, development has implications<br>for both the rural and urban areas. It is important that none of these two facets of<br>communities (urban and rural) should be neglected in the development process<br>as the development of both urban and rural communities is paramount to the<br>development of Nsukka Local Government Area. There are many factors that<br>militate against the effective utilization of community resources in the<br>implementation of community development projects. According to Ugwumba<br>(2009), such factors include insufficient resources in the community for the<br>implementation of development projects, negative interference of the<br>government in the planning and implementation of community development<br>projects and non-involvement of rural dwellers in the planning and<br>implementation of community development projects.<br>However, since the 1976 Local Government Reforms, communities in<br>Nsukka Local Government Area have tried to some extent to perform or<br>7<br>carryout some of the community development activities. Nsukka Local<br>Government Council has also facilitated the exercise of democratic selfgovernment<br>close to the grassroots level by encouraging and initiating the<br>utilization of leadership potentials in the implementation of community<br>development projects. This has also encouraged the formation of several<br>indigenous community development organizations in local government area.<br>Prominent among the indigenous community development organizations is the<br>Community Development Associations (CDAs). It is located in the community,<br>as an association that belongs to the community, established by the community<br>and for the community (Obetta, 2010). The associations usually compose of<br>male and female of different social, economic and educational status. They<br>address the issues of primary health care, rural water supply and sanitation,<br>leadership development, rural credits, eradication of illiteracy, agricultural<br>projects, rural electrification projects, rural feeder-road and maintenance<br>projects, and income-generation projects, among others. As the utilization of<br>community resources is important in the development of community projects,<br>the formation of community development associations in the various<br>communities became inevitable.<br>The community development associations utilize physical, human and<br>institutional resources in the implementation of community development<br>projects in the various communities in the local government area of Enugu<br>State. The utilization of community resources in the implementation of<br>8<br>community development projects has a lot of merits. These include acceleration<br>of community development projects, increase in agricultural productivity and<br>improvement in the standard of living of the rural dwellers.<br>Statement of the Problem<br>The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at local, state and<br>federal levels has not been able to fulfill her obligations to the citizens by<br>providing the entire necessary infrastructure in all the communities. There was<br>backward match rather than the forward match in the development of the various<br>communities, especially, during military regimes. Then, the option left for<br>grassroots development is the effort of the community development<br>associations. Recognizing the contributions of community development<br>associations to community development, government now partner with<br>them for the development of the communities, both rural and urban.<br>The community development associations involve the total<br>mobilization of a society towards a self-centred and self-reliant position with<br>regard to not only the processes of decision-making but more importantly,<br>production and consumption patterns. This justifies the formation of<br>community development associations in the various communities in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area. The associations study an action and overcome such<br>limiting circumstances of life as poverty, ignorance and disease. Also, they can<br>work communities out of their inhibitions into community betterment. They<br>9<br>help to produce results that can lead to the satisfaction of the basic needs in their<br>communities, as well as raise the conditions of their living to acceptable<br>standards, educationally, economically, socio-culturally and politically by<br>utilizing effectively the resources in the communities for the implementation of<br>community development projects. These are the potentials of community<br>development associations. Yet, as articulate as these potentials could<br>seem, there is still evidence of abandonment and non-implementation of<br>numerous development projects set-up in the various communities in the state.<br>The illiteracy rate is still high and there is also presence of poverty and lack of<br>political power. This situation is worsened by the fact that since the formation of<br>these community development associations in many communities in<br>Nsukka Local Government Area, there seems not to be any evidence to show that<br>any assessment has been done on the extent to which the community<br>development associations utilize physical, human and institutional resources<br>in the community for the implementation of community development projects<br>in the local government area.<br>Therefore, the problem of the study put in a question form is: to what<br>extent have community development associations utilized physical,<br>institutional and human resources in the communities for the implementation of<br>community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu<br>State?<br>10<br>Purpose of the Study<br>The general purpose of this study is to ascertain the extent to which<br>community resources are utilized in the implementation of community<br>development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu-State.<br>Therefore, the specific objectives of the study include:<br>1. to identify the types of community development projects that are<br>implemented utilizing community resources in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area.<br>2. to ascertain the extent to which physical resources are utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area.<br>3. to ascertain the extent to which human resources are utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area.<br>4. to find out the extent to which institutional resources are utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area.<br>5. to ascertain the factors that militate against the effective utilization of<br>community resources in the implementation of community development<br>projects in Nsukka Local Government Area.<br>11<br>Significance of the Study<br>The findings of this study will have a number of significance. Practically,<br>communities will benefit from the findings of this study. First and foremost, the<br>result of the study will be very useful for future researchers in the area of<br>utilization of community resources in the implementation of community<br>development projects. The findings of the study will enable the community to<br>know the type of community resources that are available in the community<br>which will help them in implementing community development projects without<br>waiting for government support.<br>The result of the study will enable the community to identify the extent to<br>which these available community resources are being utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in the community. The<br>result of the study will help the community to ascertain the extent to which the<br>identified strategies adopted will help in the implementation of community<br>development projects.<br>The findings of the study will help the community to understand that<br>there are merits in the utilization of community resources in the implementation<br>of community development projects. The result of the study will help the<br>community to know the conditions that necessitate the use of community<br>resources in the implementation of community development projects are being<br>adopted.<br>12<br>Finally, the findings of the study will help the community to understand<br>some factors that militate against effective utilization of community resources in<br>the implementation of community development projects.<br>Research Questions<br>In pursuance of the purpose of this study, the following research<br>questions were posed to guide the study:<br>1. What are the types of community development projects that are<br>implemented utilizing community resources in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area?<br>2. To what extent are the physical resources utilized in the implementation<br>of community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area?<br>3. To what extent are the human resources utilized in the implementation of<br>community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area?<br>4. To what extent are the institutional resources utilized in the<br>implementation of community development projects in Nsukka Local<br>Government Area?<br>5. What are the factors that militate against the effective utilization of<br>community resources in the implementation of community development<br>projects in Nsukka Local Government Area?<br>13<br>Scope of the Study<br>This study focused on the extent to which community resources are<br>utilized in the implementation of community development projects in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area of Enugu-State. Also, the study is restricted to the<br>registered members of the community development associations in Nsukka<br>Local Government Area. The study is further restricted to the assessment of the<br>extent to which physical, human and institutional resources in the communities<br>are utilized in the implementation of community development projects in<br>Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu-State.<br>Finally, the study focused on the assessment of the factors that militate<br>against the effective utilization of community resources in the implementation<br>of community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area of<br>Enugu State.<br>Hypothesis<br>The following hypotheses formulated to guide the study were tested at<br>0.05 level of significance:<br>H01: There is no significant difference between the mean rating of the male<br>and female members of the community development associations on the<br>extent to which physical resources are utilized in the implementation of<br>community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area.<br>14<br>H02: There is no significant difference between the mean rating of the male<br>and female members of the community development associations on the<br>extent to which human resources are utilized in the implementation of<br>community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area.<br>H03: There is no significant difference between the mean rating of the male<br>and female members of the community development associations on the<br>extent to which institutional resources are utilized in the implementation<br>of community development projects in Nsukka Local Government Area.<br>H04: There is no significant difference between the mean rating of the male<br>and female members of the community development associations on the<br>factors that militate against the effective utilization of community<br>resources in the implementation of community development projects in<br>Nsukka Local Government Area.<br>15 <br></p>