THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN AKWANGA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the role of community based organizations in rural development in Akwanga Local government Area of Nasarawa state, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to indentify the various community based organizations in Akwanga LGA, examine the number, type and categories of projects which community organizations have provided, identify major sources of finding and the amount the organizations have invested on the various projects. A multistage random sampling technique was used to systematically select 816 respondents from 17 functional community based organizations (CBOs) across the LGA. The major data source was primary through quantitative and qualitative methods. The qualitative data was sourced through Focus Group Discussions, In-depth Interviews, Key Informant Interview, Rural Rapid Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Participatory Learning Action and administering of questionnaire. The data management and analysis was purely computer aided. The textual data generated in the Focus Group Discussions, In-depth Interviews, Key Informant Interviews were analyzed using content analysis, while the data generated from the questionnaire were subjected to both descriptive and inferential analysis. ANOVA was used to test the difference in the financial investments by Community Based Organizations (CBOs) on different projects. Calculated P-value < 0.05, F-table (2.2555) is </- calculate (4.1664) H0 was rejected and concluded that there is significant difference in the financial investment by CBOs on different projects. We also use the same calculation to conclude that CBOs have impacted positively in rural development in Akwanga Local Government Area. The study showed that a total of226 projects were executed by different Community Based Organizations in the study area categorized into 8 which are transportation, education, health, commerce, water supply, housing; recreation and rural electrification at the cost of N 16.7 million between 2004 and 2011. It was recommended that because CBOs approach prove viable in Akwanga LG.A. other communities within and outside the state that is not active should reactivate theirs. It was also recommended that the CBOs should shift their emphasis to other areas that programmes and banking and credit facilities.