GAUGING THE POTENCY OF PARTICIPATORY COMMUNICATION INPROMOTING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN PLATEAUSTATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Participatory communication emerged as a paradigm shift from the top-bottom approach in development practice. The bottom-top approach emphasises the need for community members' active participation in their communities' development process; starting from identification of felt needs, projects design and implementation stages which gives them a sense of ownership of the development and guarantees the sustainability of the development outcomes in their communities. The study assessed the efficacy of Plateau State Community and Social Development Agency in promoting sustainable community development in the state using participatory development approach as against the traditional top-bottom development approach. Community members participation in the development process of their communities, empowered them to take ownership and ensure the sustainability of the projects executed in their communities. The study is anchored on Participatory theory. It adopted descriptive survey designed method. Questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection and the rationale behind the used of method is to elicit responses from the sampled respondents. A total of 315 copies of questionnaire were distributed but 300 copies were retrieved and found valid for data analysis. Responses to the questions were collected and computed using simple percentage. The population of the study comprises of entire Plateau state but the study focused on 6 local government areas: Jos East, Bassa, Mangu, Bokkos, Langtang North and Mikang. The L.G.As were purposively selected to represent the state. The findings of the study showed that the agency’s involvement of the citizens in the development of their communities gives the people sense of ownership and guaranteed the sustainability of the projects executed in their communities. It concluded that the adoption and application of participatory communication in development practice has empowered the poor citizens to decide the kind of developmental intervention they desired without them funding the projects. The study recommended that efforts be made to inculcate participatory approach in governance at the federal, state and local governments to ensure that only people’s oriented projects are executed in rural communities across Nigeria.