Assessment of Community Participation in The Preservation of Cultural Heritage Resources Among Rural Households in Southwest Nigeria

• Author(s): Ayoade A. R ; Ogunjumo M. A ; Adewole W. A ; Tiamiyu A. O
• Paper ID: 1710885
• Page: 1776-1782
• Published Date: 01-10-2025
• Published In: Iconic Research And Engineering Journals
• Publisher: IRE Journals
• e-ISSN: 2456-8880
• Volume/Issue: Volume 9 Issue 3 September-2025

Abstract

The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) rightly posits that Nigeria is blessed with outstanding cultural, natural and significant heritage resources. Meanwhile, the country is facing multiplicity of problems in her attempt at cultural transformation particularly concerning the proper preservation of her abundant cultural heritage. This study assessed the level of community participation in cultural heritage resources preservation among the rural household in South West Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was employed for the selection of 221 respondents for the study. Data were collected using a mixed method of well structured questionnaires and interview schedule. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, Weighted Mean Score (WMS) were used to describe the socioeconomic characteristics, enumerate the benefits of cultural heritage preservation, examine challenges to cultural heritage preservation and to examine the level of community participation on cultural heritage preservation. t-test analysis was used to test the hypothesis of the study. The findings revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 54 years in Oyo and 57 years in Ogun States. The mean household size was 7 people in both Oyo and Ogun States. Preserving traditional entrepreneurial skills (99.5%) was the most benefit derived from cultural heritage preservation. Lack of technical experts and poor professionalism (WMS = 1.26) was the most challenge encountered in preservation. The t-test result shows that there was no significant difference in the level of community participation in the preservation of cultural heritage resources between Oyo and Ogun States (t=1.766, p= 0.081). The study concluded that benefits of cultural heritage influenced the level of participation. The study therefore recommends that funds should be allocated to researchers, conservators and other professionals to build their capacities in conservation process

Keywords

Cultural heritage, Community participation, Preservation and Rural households

Citations

IRE Journals:
Ayoade A. R , Ogunjumo M. A , Adewole W. A , Tiamiyu A. O "Assessment of Community Participation in The Preservation of Cultural Heritage Resources Among Rural Households in Southwest Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 3 2025 Page 1776-1782

IEEE:
Ayoade A. R , Ogunjumo M. A , Adewole W. A , Tiamiyu A. O "Assessment of Community Participation in The Preservation of Cultural Heritage Resources Among Rural Households in Southwest Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(3)