An Evaluation of The Contributions of Women Organisations to Community Development in Nigeria and Factors Affecting Their Effective Participation in Community Development

Okoh Itebite Daniel

ABSTRACT

This paper evaluated some areas where women organisations have contributed immensely to community development in Nigeria and also interrogated some challenges faced by women organisations in community development. The radical feminist theory provided the theoretical underpinning of this study. The qualitative methodology was adopted for this study and non-numerical data obtained from articles, books and other online sources were analysed with content analysis. The study concluded that the challenges facing women organisations were multidimensional and subsumed under socio-cultural constraints; economic/financial constraint; political constraints and informational constraints. To address these challenges, the paper recommended that Nigeria’s literacy levels require improvement, and it is crucial that young girls in the North are encouraged to attend school. Also, adult literacy programmes should be driven by government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations, and the private sector; women entrepreneurs and organisations should have access to micro loans, grants, donations and other financial supports to aid them in carrying out their programmes, projects and activities within their communities and women should be more engaged in politics, as this would provide a veritable platform for them to channel their concerns and have their voices heard. Keywords: Women, Women Organisations, Community and Community Development

Assessesment Of Age and Time as Barriers to Participation in Recreational Sports by Members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (Nurtw) In Nigeria

Isa Ali¹, *Yusuf Abubakar² (Ph.D)& Amina Yusuf Dogara³ (Ph.D)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess time and age as barriers to participation in recreational sports by members of National Union of Road transport Workers (NURTW) in Nigeria. In order to achieve this purpose, the researcher developed two (2) research questions and two (2) hypotheses. Survey research design was used in the study. The population of the study was two million four hundred and sixteen thousand, three hundred and seven (2,416,307) members of the NURTW in the six (6) Geo-Political Zones of Nigeria including FCT, Abuja. The instrument used for data collection was adopted questionnaire by Mohammadi & Jarani (2017), titled Sports Participation Questionnaire (SPQ) which was made up of three (3) sections (A-C) containing closed ended statements using four point modified Likert scale which was used for pilot study. The completed 50 copies were exposed to reliability test where a reliability index of 0.866 was obtained which was rounded up to 0.87 which rendered the instrument reliable for the study. The sample size for this study was 422 drawn using multistage sampling techniques, where same copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents but, 402 were successfully completed and returned making 95.3% response rate which was used for the study. Descriptive statistic of frequencies and percentages (%) were used to describe the data collected on demographic variables of the respondents while descriptive statistic of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions and one sample t – test was used to analyse the hypotheses at alpha level of 0.05. Findings from the study revealed that time and age of members are significant barriers to participation in recreational sports by members of NURTW in Nigeria (p = 0.000). Based on the findings of the study the researchers concluded that time and age were major hindrances to participation in recreational sport by members of the NURTW in Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that members of the NURTW should provide time for recreational sport considering its outstanding benefits not consider their ages as being old or too young to participate in recreational sports as the benefit of participation in recreational sport is independent of one’s age.

Keywords: Sports, Recreation, Recreational sports, Sport participation, Road Transport Workers

Bureaucratic Corruption and Service Delivery in the Edo State Civil Service: A Study of Selected Ministries

Okoh Itebite Daniel

                                 ABSTRACT

The study examined bureaucratic corruption and its effect on public service delivery in the Edo State Civil Service. In the course of carrying out this study, the correlational research design was adopted and the survey method of data analysis was utilised to elicit responses from the respondents via a structured questionnaire and results were analysed with chi-square. The study revealed that was no significant relationship between embezzlement of public funds and health care services rendered by the Edo State Ministry of Health. The study also revealed that there was no significant relationship between public sector fraud and electricity power supply to the citizens of Edo State. The data confirmed that there is a significant relationship between bribery and corruption and the deplorable states of roads in Edo State. The data also demonstrated that there was no relationship between nepotism and general service delivery in the Edo State Civil Service. The paper concluded that bribery and corruption had the most negative impact on the delivery of public service to citizens of Edo State. The study recommended that the mechanism of transparency and accountability in all institutions of government must be strengthened especially in the procurement process and that there should be adequate remuneration, improved incentives and a good working environment for employees.

COMMUNAL CONFLICT AND LIVELIHOOD DIVERSIFICATION IN BOKKOS LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

¹Usman Abdu Awatai, ²Joseph Mamman Ibbih PhD, Ibrahim Gerald Umar  PhD

ABSTRACT

Communal conflict has manifested itself as the most pandemic issue next to ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria with ownership, access to and use of land as the driver of the conflict. This study provides an analysis of rural livelihood activities using the ‘household’ as the core unit of inquiry. this research evaluate the activities which rural people in the study area undertake to generate diverse income as a result of the problems they encounter, such as communal conflicts and what influences their decision making as they attempt to construct a living out of poverty, and to find the relationship between communal conflict and livelihood diversification in Bokkos LGA of Plateau State, Nigeria, the targeted population are the 8 districts in Bokkos LGA and the sample size was calculated to be 400 households, we use simple random sampling to select our target respondents. The methodology adopted is survey research using multinomial probit model (MNPM) to analyze our data. The result shows that occurrences of communal conflict (OCC) with parameter estimates of 0.003, Highest level of education of household head (HLEH) with parameter estimate of 0.01. Land size farm by households (SL) has 0.007 coefficient, Access to farm extension services(AFES) had estimated parameter of 0.03 and gender (GEN) with parameter estimated of 0.006  they all has positive marginal effect on choice of livelihood diversification in Bokkos LGA. while, Access to market during or after communal conflict (AMDCC with estimated coefficient of -0.020, Household access to credit facilities during or after communal conflict (ACDCC) has a – 0.007 estimated parameter and household head age (AG) with estimated coefficient of -0.023 they had a negative marginal effect on livelihood diversification. Major recommendations are as follows: i. Establishing a local peace committee that includes representatives from different community groups to facilitate dialogue and mediate disputes before they escalate. ii. Creating a community-based monitoring system to identify early warning signs of conflict and initiate preventive measures. iii. Implementing economic support programs that provide microcredits and grants to affected households, enabling them to diversify their livelihoods without relying on high-interest loans. iv. Developing infrastructure rehabilitation projects that focus on restoring and improving market access and transportation links disrupted by conflict. v. Offering vocational training and skill development workshops to increase employment opportunities, particularly for youth and displaced individuals.vi. Reinforcing the agricultural sector by providing access to farm extension services, quality seeds, and fertilizers to enhance productivity and ensure food security. vii. Investing in the reconstruction and protection of educational facilities, as well as implementing catch-up education programs for children and adults who have missed schooling. viii. Promoting land reform policies that ensure fair distribution and secure land tenure, reducing the risk of land-related conflicts. Encouraging investment in alternative dispute resolution mechanisms that are culturally sensitive and accessible to all community members.

Keywords: Communal conflict, Livelihood, Livelihood Diversification and Bokkos LGA