The Perceived Impact of Multinational Corporations on National Development: A Study of Oguta Local Government Area, Imo State.

ABSTRACT Nigeria is endowed with oil and mineral resources and these attracted multinational corporations. They were seen as agents of development but it was not so. There was exploitation, environmental pollution and underdevelopment in the oil producing states. This caused pollution, low standard of living, oil spillage and unemployment. The general objective of the study was to ascertain the contributions of multinational corporations to the development of Oguta local government area. The specific objectives of this study are to ascertain if the activities of multinational corporations have led to decreasing employment; if multinational corporations have contributed towards increasing environmental pollution; how multinational corporations have contributed towards increasing social and welfare services; how multinational corporations have contributed towards improving the lives of people and the contributions of multinational corporations towards technology transfer and skill training in Oguta local government area. To achieve this objective, the study adopted descriptive research and a multistage sampling technique was used. Interview and questionnaire were used to generate primary data to complement the secondary data obtained from books and journals. Data were analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) and the result was used to answer research questions. The hypotheses posed were tested using the Z – test statistics. Findings indicated that the activities of multinational corporations have led to increase in unemployment. The result showed that the presence of multinational corporations has led to environmental pollution. The recommendations were made to the effect that adequate fund should be set aside by both private and public enterprises for assisting the youths with entrepreneurial skills to set up their own privately owned enterprises in the area of their skills. This will make them to become employers of labour as against the unemployment in Oguta. There should be land use planning that involves zoning and transport infrastructural planning because it helps to ensure that the land is used efficiently for the benefit of a wider economy as well as to protect the environment. There should be collective effort of both multinational corporations and government to mitigate the problem of unemployment in Oguta community both the government and multinational corporations should partner together to curb unemployment through entrepreneurial development among others.