IJO- International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ( E:ISSN 2811-2466 ) (P.ISSN: 2384-6097)

The Role of Community Participation in Achieving Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Pathways, Challenges and Policy Implications

2026-08-03T07:08:42+00:00

Community participation has become a fundamental principle in sustainable development because it promotes local ownership, social inclusion, accountability, and long-term sustainability of development interventions. Despite numerous government policies and international development programmes implemented across Nigeria, many development projects continue to experience poor sustainability due to inadequate involvement of host communities during planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation stages. This paper critically examines the role of community participation in achieving sustainable development in Nigeria by synthesizing contemporary literature and empirical evidence within the framework of participatory development. The study adopts a desk review methodology, drawing evidence from peer-reviewed journal articles, government publications, and reports from international development organizations. The review demonstrates that meaningful community participation improves project relevance, strengthens institutional capacity, enhances environmental stewardship, promotes transparency, reduces project failure, and contributes significantly to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, institutional weaknesses, inadequate decentralization, corruption, elite capture, insecurity, gender inequality, limited financial resources, and weak policy implementation continue to hinder effective participation across many Nigerian communities. The study concludes that strengthening participatory governance, empowering local institutions, promoting inclusive decision-making, enhancing digital civic engagement, and improving institutional accountability are essential for sustainable national development. It recommends that governments at all levels should institutionalize participatory planning mechanisms, strengthen community-based organizations, increase citizens' access to development information, and provide continuous capacity development for local stakeholders to ensure sustainable development outcomes.

Multiculturalism in a future peaceful world

2026-08-24T05:58:22+00:00

We live in a rapidly changing world, one in which the movement of different peoples from country to country, from place to place, has increased exponentially. The transport and communications revolutions of the modern world have facilitated this movement. The opportunities for human contact over ever greater distances have consequently increased. As a result, on one view, many countries have increasingly become more multicultural in nature[1]. And yet the subject of multiculturalism continues to be a sensitive one. One commentator has ominously stated “The first rule of multiculturalism is that you can't talk about multiculturalism.”[2]. It is apparently such a sensitive contemporary subject, arguably in part as a defensive tactic, including because of the sensitivities that can be impacted by the expression of prejudices of various kinds, whether those sensitivities are of those persons favouring multiculturalism or otherwise.

Factors that influence the success of social media tactics in brand building in Malawi

2026-08-24T06:17:15+00:00

This paper examines the factors that influence the success of social media tactics in brand building in Malawi, drawing on Objective Two of the broader study on the efficacy of social media tactics in brand building. The study employed a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative target population comprised 135 marketing-related staff across 10 purposively selected companies, from which a required sample of approximately 101 respondents was determined using a finite-population sample-size formula. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative data, while qualitative evidence was obtained through interviews, peer-reviewed literature and content analysis. The data were analysed using MS Excel and SPSS. The findings show comparatively longer brand presence on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, websites and WhatsApp. Images and videos were the most frequently used content formats, while difficulty in reaching target audiences emerged as the most urgent challenge, alongside lack of resources, inadequate analytics tools and challenges in content creation. The study concludes that effective social media brand building depends on appropriate platform use, relevant content choices and the ability to address implementation challenges.

The Perceived Effects of Social Media Brand-Building on Business Success in Malawi

2026-08-24T06:29:35+00:00

This paper examines the perceived effects of social media brand building on business success in Malawi, drawing on Objective Three of the broader study on the efficacy of social media tactics in brand building. The study employed a mixed-methods research design. The quantitative target population comprised 135 marketing-related staff across 10 purposively selected companies, from which a required sample of approximately 101 respondents was determined using a finite-population sample-size formula. Quantitative data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analysed using MS Excel and SPSS, while qualitative evidence from interviews, peer-reviewed literature and content analysis was used for contextual interpretation and triangulation. The findings show comparatively stronger mean assessments of overall marketing effectiveness for Facebook and WhatsApp, while the influence of the examined brand-building factors was generally moderate. Brand-building outcomes varied across sales, market share, customer loyalty and brand reputation. Click-through rate and brand awareness were among the strongest-rated KPIs, Facebook and Instagram were comparatively stronger for increasing brand awareness, and most platforms were regarded as important for building and maintaining brand image. The study concludes that respondents perceived social media brand building as relevant to business success, particularly through platform effectiveness, performance measurement, audience engagement and the strategic integration of social media activities. These findings are descriptive and should not be interpreted as proof of causal effects.

LEGAL ANALYSIS OF STATUTORY AND ANTI-CORRUPTION ENFORCEMENT REGIMES IN THE PETROLEUM AND ELECTRICTY SECTORS OF NIGERIA

2026-09-04T09:28:38+00:00

Nigeria’s petroleum and electricity sectors constitute the foundation of the country’s economy and are supported by an extensive framework of constitutional, statutory, regulatory, and anti-corruption laws intended to promote transparency, accountability, environmental sustainability, and prudent resource governance. Notwithstanding this elaborate legal blueprint, the sectors continue to experience pervasive corruption, weak institutional coordination, regulatory fragmentation, revenue leakages, environmental degradation, tariff and billing irregularities, and inadequate public accountability. The persistence of these governance failures raises fundamental concerns regarding the effectiveness of existing enforcement mechanisms. Against this background, this article interrogates why have Nigeria’s comprehensive statutory and anti-corruption enforcement regimes failed to achieve effective governance, transparency, and accountability within the petroleum and electricity sectors despite the existence of robust legal frameworks? This paper argues that Nigeria’s principal governance challenge is not legislative insufficiency but rather deficient enforcement characterized by overlapping institutional mandates, political interference, weak inter-agency collaboration, and selective prosecution. The article adopts a doctrinal legal research methodology, complemented by comparative approaches examining the Constitution, the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, Electricity Act, 2023, NEITI Act, 2007, NOGICDA, 2010, Climate Change Act, 2021, FOIA, 2011, Official Secrets Act, 1962, CAMA, 2020, the EFCC Act, ICPC Act, NFIU Act and relevant judicial authorities. The article concludes that the effectiveness of Nigeria’s energy governance depends less on enacting additional legislation than on strengthening institutional credibility, enforcement capacity, prosecutorial independence, and oversight. It recommends the enactment of a Unified Energy Sector Enforcement and Accountability Act and statutory amendments introducing automatic sanctions, stronger audit enforcement and institutional reforms.

TERRORIST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS IN NIGERIA BY NON-STATE ACTORS: A STUDY OF STATE COMPLICITY AND NEGLECT

2026-09-04T09:43:03+00:00

In spite of official claims by Nigeria of tackling the problem of gender-based violence, there is a glaring spectacle of state neglect of female victims and survivors of horrendous atrocities perpetrated by extremist groups within its borders. The government neither recognizes their trauma and travails nor does it have any policy/program to grant them justice, or for their treatment, restoration, rehabilitation and reintegration. Rather government’s sympathy leans toward the evil terrorists who they protect from facing justice for their crimes through an ill conceived program of de-radicalization, rehabilitation, compensation and re-integration. It is against this background this paper investigates terrorist violence against women and girls and the way government actions encourage terrorists rather than bring succor to their victims. The paper identifies the crimes of the terrorists and why government frames policies that shuns suffering victims to reward the terrorists. Failed state theory is the framework on which the paper is anchored and it relies on content analysis of secondary data obtained from newspapers, journal articles, books, social media and the internet The study reveals the uncomfortable truth that the terror groups were formed by powerful people in northern Nigeria who also use their presence and influence in positions of power to work for their sustenance. . The paper recommends immediate scrapping of all policies/programs designed to reward terrorist;.and the bringing of all captured or surrendered members of the groups, their sponsors and supporters to account for their atrocities against women and girls, before our courts. The paper further recommends that government set up appropriate programs and agencies across the states for the restoration, rehabilitation, empowerment and re-integration of female survivors of terror; that government should clear terrorists from all illegally occupied lands and communities and restore the displaced original owners to their inheritance and that government make religion a personal issue, remove all references to religion from the constitution and restore the rule of law, justice and equity throughout the territory of Nigeria.