MOBILIZING THE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ONDO SENATORIAL DISTRICT, ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study identified the community-based organizations (CBOs) and their structure in the Ondo Senatorial District in Ondo State to assess the distribution pattern of developmental projects embarked upon by them in the area and examine the level of community participation in the developmental activities. The locations of the CBOs' projects were captured with the aid of global positioning systems (GPS). Furthermore, 1535 copies of the questionnaire `for the household and 150 copies of the key informant questionnaire were used to collect data on community development, decision making, planning processes and implementation of policy, and of residents and major stakeholders on the level of involvement in community development programmes using a multistage sampling procedure which was based on the level of development and population. Descriptive statistics in form of percentages and inferential statistics in form of Spearman's rank correlation were employed for the data analysis. Findings showed that of the total CBOs identified in the study area, 52% were Community Development Associations (CDA), 36% were Resident Associations, 11% were Town Unions, and Youth Association made up 1%. The CBOs were generally structured into an organogram containing the administration of the President (55%), Vice President (62%) and other members of the executive (Secretary, Treasurer, Financial Secretary and Public Relations Officer) with the responsibility towards the CBOs' objectives to the host communities. Whereas borehole/water projects constituted the largest (30%) contribution of the CBOs at Idanre Local Government Area (LGA), the largest financial contribution occurred at Ifedore LGA. In addition, the CBOs made at least 95 million naira as financial donations and completed 60 water projects between 1989 and 2015. The levels of community participation in developmental activities varied as attendance of meetings of developmental discussion (62%) and financial contributions (14.9%) in the area, and these were fairly but significantly correlated with the socio-economic characteristics of the residents (r = -0.1 – 0.4; p < 0.05). The study concluded that CBOs' activities promote infrastructural development and improve livelihoods in the area.