INFLUENCE OF COMMUNAL CONFLICTS ON SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN OKRIKA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE.

Abstract

The Study examined the Influence of Communal Conflicts on Sustainable Community Development in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers State.  It adopted the descriptive survey design. Thepopulation of the study was 374. It comprised 44 Community leaders and 330 members of various Community Development Committees in all the communities of Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.The entire population was taken as census without sampling due to its small and manageable size. A self-structured questionnaire titled “Influence of Communal Conflict on Sustainable Community Development Questionnaire” (ICCSCDQ) was used for data collection. The reliability coefficient is 0.72. it was determined using the Cronbach Alpha statistics..The data collected for the study were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. The study revealed thatpolitical conflict leads to destruction of community properties and breeds animosity among community members which in turn affects the sustainability of community development. It also revealvedthat chieftaincy tussle and land disputes creates insecurity in affected communities, and scare away development agencies from going into a community which negatively influences sustainability of development.  Based on the findings, the researcher recommends, amongst others, that political office holders at federal, state and local government levels should ensure that their elections and political aspirations are not marked with violence as this leads to destruction of community assets and affects sustainability of development projects.