Localised Initiatives: Households Contribution to Infrastructure Development in Ondo State, Nigeria

Community-Driven Development (CDD), as an approach to community development, treats the people and their institutions as assets and partners in the development process. Infrastructure provision is a catalyst to community development as its lack or inefficiency impedes the growth of economic, social and welfare related ventures in both rural and urban communities. This paper explores the contribution of residents/households to communal efforts in the provision and maintenance of community infrastructure in Ondo State, Nigeria. It exposes their connectedness with community associations in the provision and management of identified community infrastructure in order to improve the quality of life in the area. Three hundred and seventy (370) households were selected across the state in a multistage sampling process to administer a well-structured open and close ended questionnaire; using residential buildings as sampling units. Six (6) urban and rural settlements were targeted for the data gathering across the three (3) senatorial districts of the state. Major findings established a high variation in the dominance of approaches to financial contribution espoused by households across the state towards community infrastructure development. A high level of involvement in project identification for CBOs’ execution and the dominance of availability as labourers for general infrastructure provision were equally discovered among other findings. Recommendations are targeted towards transparency and accountability on the part of community organizations while International Organizations are encouraged to focus more on road construction in rural community and poorly accessed areas of urban centres in order to achieve sustained community transformation.