THEATRE INSTITUTIONS AS MEDIATING STRUCTURES IN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE OF ANKPA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KOGI STATE

Abstract

The indispensable characteristics of mediating structures for a well-balanced society have steadily gained wide recognition over the last couple of decades among social scientists and policy experts globally. This can be seen from the roles of mediating structures outlined by different scholars. Nevertheless an essential point for the greater attention to the subject such as Peter Berger and Richard John Neuhaus whose 1977 monograph attracted attention to the subject matter. The duo popularized mediating structures further in their manifestos and highlighted it importance of mediating structures to the front burner. The consistent stable corrosion of natural communities by government policies and expansion has resulted in lack of the confidence of the people most directly affected by them. Despite their increasing desire for government services. The study in order to assess the impact of theatre institutions as mediating structures in Ankpa local government adopted the quantitative research methodology and sticking to the instrument of questionnaires for data collection, the data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. Ten (10) communities were selected and the researcher visited the communities and selected respondents who attended to the questionnaires as they were guided to fill the questionnaires. The data were analyzed through table analysis. The finding shows that theatre institutions as mediating structures have helped the local government to develop seriously in all ramifications. It is on this premise that the study recommends that theatre institutions as mediating structures should be allowed to flourish in our communities as their roles can never be underestimated. The research therefore concludes that theatre institutions can serve as mediating structures to bring the government and it plan in a democratic setting to the people and the people to the government.