Achieving Sustainable Community Development Projects Through Community Participation in Rivers State, Nigeria

This study examined the extent to which community participation was used in the achievement of sustainable community development projects in Rivers State, Nigeria. Two research questions and one null hypothesis guided the study. The descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study, with a population of 1111 respondents comprising community leaders and youth members in two local government areas of the state. The sample of 333 respondents made up of 116 community leaders and 217 youth members was drawn from the study population using the stratified random sampling technique. An 18- item structured questionnaire weighted on a 4-point rating scale was the data collecting instrument that was used in the study and validated by two expert colleagues in adult education. The reliability index of .89 was obtained in a test-retest method using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The research questions were answered using the means and the t-test statistic was used to test the null hypothesis at the probability level of 5%. Findings of the study showed that community participation was rarely felt in community development projects in Rivers State as their inputs are most often not sought before embarking on projects. The study further identified as some of the contributing factors to community participation in community development projects in Rivers State as high rate of poverty, ignorance, lack of transparency and corruption. The null hypothesis was accepted, an indication that significant difference was not found between the mean responses of community leaders and youth members regarding the extent to which community participation has contributed in the achievement of sustainable community development projects in Rivers State. It was recommended among others that community members should be represented in the planning and implementation of projects in the state. Keywords:    Community Participation, Sustainability, Empowerment, Human Capacity Developmen