Abstract:
Majority of rural Nigerian households do not have access to basic facilities despite various policies and programmes on rural development put in place by the governments. These rural populations are living in small and scattered settlements which make the provision of these facilities difficult. Since rural development is better carried out in conjunction with the inhabitants of the rural area for the purpose of sustainability; this study therefore parades community participation as the mechanism for successful provision of these facilities in rural settlements in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Integrated Rural Development and Community Development Approach served as the conceptual framework for the study. Community participation carries the feelings of ownership and builds a strong base for intervention in any society. In presenting the experience of Nsit Ubium Local Government area, the study utilized stratified random sampling of household-heads, community-heads, and community-based organizations and aged-group Associations in 35 randomly selected villages that made up the study area. A total of 337 out of 1685 population in the study area were randomly selected. Instruments of data collection included questionnaire administration, oral interview and field observation. The data analysis for the study was carried out at two different levels. At the univariate level; charts, graphs, maps, and percentages were used while Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for the analysis of the three (3) research hypotheses at the bivariate level. Findings revealed among others that there was a significant relationship between the level of community participation and the level of rural development; the higher the level of participation, the higher the number of projects provision. There is also a significant influence of gender in the level of participation as more men were involved than women. The socio-economic characteristics of the rural dwellers play a dominant role in community development. For sustainable rural development, the study recommended the formation of Youth and Women Cooperative societies and linking them up with Support and Trainning Enterpreneurial Programme (STEP); and World Bank Economic Programme where people could take the advantage of with a view to enhancing community participation in the study area.
