Influence of Community Development Programs of Multinational Oil Corporations on Socio-Economic Empowerment of Rural Women in Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the socio-economic empowerment of rural women as a correlate of community development programmes of multinational oil corporations in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The study adopted ex-post facto research design and random sampling technique was used to select 1126 respondents from the twelve communities. Two scales were used to collect primary data; these are Host Community Development Inventory (HCDS) r= 0.71 and Multinational Oil Development Inventory (MOCDI) r= 0.74. Data collected were analysed with Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis at 0.05 level of significance. Findings from the study revealed that the multinational oil corporations did not follow the principle of community development in the intervention programmes because the host communities were not involved in the projects identification, planning, execution and evaluation. Significant relationship did not exist in the economic development (r = 0.702; N = 1126, P >0.05), vocational skills (r = 0.005; N = 1126; P> 0.05), educational development (r = 0.025; N = 1126; P>0.05). It was therefore recommended that for the community  development programmes of the multinational oil corporations to be successful, the host communities must be involved in the identification, planning, implementation and evaluation of the projects.

Key Words: Communities, development, livelihood, pollution, economic deprivation.