Strengthening Community Asset Resilience: Evidence from Gidan Kwano, Minna Nigeria

Abstract

In sub-Saharan Africa, urbanisation has been inevitable and dynamic in addition to coming with numerous challenges relating to land use development and management. One way to tackle the issues is through community support resilience structures in terms of community asset development and management; however, this solution remains poorly understood. Therefore, with a view to providing information that can help in strengthening community land use development and management, this study assessed community asset resilience in Gidan Kwano within Minna metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria. The study employed a mixed-method research approach wherein data was collected with the aid of a questionnaire and Key Informant Interviews in Gidan Kwano (GK) community. The Modified Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) was adopted to test the community asset vulnerability context. It was discovered that the stresses and shocks of urbanisation trends in GK community have been rising, with considerable impact on the community asset. Therefore, the study highlights the need for a far-reaching intervention that will strengthen community asset resilience, stressing the need for the provision of functional infrastructures, the need for stronger corporate social responsibility from neighbouring institutions such as the Federal University of Technology Minna and the enforcement of relevant codes to mitigate the vulnerability contexts in Gidan Kwano. This model can also be applied in communities facing similar challenges.