Impact of Community Development Programmes on Leadership Capacity Building of Community Leaders in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This Study examined Community Development Programmes and Leadership Capacity Building of Community Leaders in Bayelsa State of Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprises the 1,294 Paramount Rulers and Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairmen in the state. The simple random sampling technique was applied to select 200 respondents from each of the senatorial districts that make up Bayelsa State (Bayelsa Central, Bayelsa East and Bayelsa West) to realize a sample size of 600. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire. The reliability coefficient index of the instrument was 0.85. Three research questions were posed. They were analyzed using frequencies and weighted mean. The findings revealed amongst others that: cultural education programmes, environment/sanitation education programmes and peace/conflict resolution education programmes build the capacity of Community Leaders on cultural values for peaceful coexistence amongst others. Based on the findings, the Researcher recommended amongst others that: Paramount Rulers and Community Development Committee (CDC) Chairmen should recommend to the state government on adding peace education to the primary and secondary school curriculum as this would bring lasting peace to the various local government areas of Bayelsa State and Nigeria at large.