DEMOCRACY AND THE CHALLENGES OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

The practice of democratic governance in Nigeria amidst community development challenge has been a scholarly concern. This study therefore, examined the effect of democracy on community development in three selected local government areas in Gombe state. The study used a sample of 403. The method of data analysis utilized is descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The research revealed that democracy has a significant impact on community development at 5% level. conversely, democracy had an effect of 5% on unemployment. Therefore, the study concluded that democracy has improved community development but failed to fill unemployment gap in Gombe state. The study recommended that to sustain the improvement in community development, Government should establish and internal agency that will monitor and ensure transparency in the used of development funds to avoid corrupt practice. Government should also prioritize water and sanitations projects as a stride to improve community development since democracy has failed to improve water facilities in the study area. Democratically elected officials should initiate effective plans and policies that would create more jobs and empower youth to reduce unemployment in Gombe state. Thus, through empowerment programmes and self-employed initiatives in the communities.