Traditional Media of Communication as Tools for Effective Rural Development
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This study aims to identify the role of traditional communication in the development of Iwollo town in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State and other rural communities. It intends to discover the Usefulness and limitations of any of those media in the community. The effectiveness of the traditional media will be determined and will serve as a base for comprising traditional communication in the Iwollo Oghe community.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
SOURCES OF LITERATURE REVIEWED
There are various literature reviewed in this study, because it is well known that no man is an isolation of him/herself. With this regard many institutions, organization, groups, individuals, and authors of books related to this study were meet in order to grant this work an absolute success. The various literature received in this study were obtained from the following source, Enugu State University of science and Technology Library, Caritas university Library, Ezeagu Development Center (Iwollo Oghe Branch), magazines, newspapers, journals, encyclopedia and other related works.
Many works and researchers have been done on the issue of traditional media of communication, prior to this, I tried to make more researches and consult works done especially on the Igbo ethnicity and other various ethnic groups and the national question.
Bearing in mind that no research is an island unto itself, it becomes obvious and important to highlight some findings of related works agreeing with this relevant ones and make up a point of departure about the subject matter. It should be noted that different authors and analyst share different view concerning traditional means of communication. Therefore, the essence of this literature review is to ascertain how other authors and analyst perceive the concept of traditional communication especially around the Igbo geographical area of Nigeria, which will serve as a favourable ground for this work to become success.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF IWOLLO TOWN
Iwollo is in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State. The town is located in the North periphery of Ezeagu Local Government Area. It is bounded in the East by Akama Oghe and in the North-West by Awha communities both in Ezeagu Local Government.
The people of Iwollo are Igbos to the core. Iwollo observe a central – 4 – day traditional market “AFOR IWOLLO”. Moreover, there are certain values which permit the Iwollo people way of life and gave meaning to what they did and what they are still doing today. They include.
- Sense of human relations
- Sense of sacredness of life
- Sense of hospitality.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The survey method on the basis of self administered questionnaire is the research technique used for this study. This method is appropriate since the study is based on a critical look concerning the various Traditional media of communication as an agent of rural development. It is also the most suitable method to gather a vast number of data since it makes data arrangement and computation less cumber some to compute. It is also the most suitable research method for this study.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design according to Haskins (1968) refers to the total plan of an investigation or study; it is not restricted to one aspect of research only.
Nworgu, (1991) stated that research design is a plan or blue print which specifies how data relating to a given problem should be collected and analysed. Research design provides the procedural outline for the conduct of the investigation. The research design helped in providing the necessary Framework needed by the researcher for tackling certain problems such as what ought to constitute the target population, what is sample population and the sampling technique to be used in determining it, how to collect and analyse the data, what type of statistical test is appropriate etc. the researcher made use of questionnaire as a means of measuring instrument.
The questionnaire has to be administered to the respondents in their various homes to ensure error free and high morality rate of the questionnaire.
AREA OF STUDY
This study is done within the Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State. Precisely in Iwollo Oghe Community. The study treated the various traditional media of communication. It also went further to study how effective these various media of communication are and how it affects rural development.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
Population refers to animate or inanimate things which the study is focused. It could be class, libraries, town, local government areas, states, nation or persons the researcher is interested in getting information from for the study. (Nnayelugo 2001).
In this study the population used is iwollo Oghe Community which comprises of 8,348 (Eight thousand three hundred and forty eight].people, As stated by the National population commission in 2006, National Population Census. However, the community will be stratified into the six villages.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
In this chapter, the data analysed and the results arrived at, were presented. The six villages of Iwollo oghe in Ezeagu North Local Government Area of Enugu state were studied. A total of 382 copies of the questionnaires were distributed and encouragingly, all were completed and returned. This shows 100% response, which is highly appreciated.
Meanwhile, this was as a result of the receptive nature of the respondents as well as personal approach which the researcher adopted in administering the questionnaire.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CCALCLUSION
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Traditional instrument of communication are based on homophiles linkages, involving persons known, respected and trusted. They involve the collaboration of individuals and therefore are never alienated. The traditional media afford the individual participatory opportunity, thus removing educator/ educates concept. They therefore decentralize communication instrument like gong (Ekwe and Ogene), Flute [opi] and slit wooden xylophones (Ikoro) serve as correlation media. They use various sounds to code messages, which are decoded by the target audience appropriately and promptly too. These instrument also supplement cultural transmission, entertainment, educating the masses and surveillance.
The Ikoro which is usually stationary is used in sending messages to a village or neighbouring villages, especially during festivals prominent among such festival (Ani) Festival which co-memorable the gods of the land.
The Flute (Opi) is one effective medium of communication and a musical instrument used by Iwollo people and other rural communities. It is used in raising the hopes and aspirations of the people especially during festivals or other events.
Some traditional communication media specializes in information dissemination and so remove distortion in the channel. Distortion often arise when one media carry all kinds of messages. This is typical of the modern media.
Traditional media of communication plays the following functions: They perform surveillance of the environment, advertising, it mobilizes the populace it is the window through which the community are known to the outside world, it helps in maintaining and strengthening the people’s culture and heritage, it helps in information dissemination, it educates the populace, it entertains the people, it correlates the entire members of the community, it brings the people together and social reformation functions.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES
The researcher made the following recommendations.
- The modern media should be used in conjunction with the traditional media of communication which people are more familiar with. This will make for participatory communication to enhance national development.
- The society is very essential, this is because development cannot take place outside a society, it is from the society that development takes place and human beings must be there in order to develop the resources, to raise human standard, capacity building, because in the absence of human society there is nothing like development.
- In order to achieve an optimum development human resources is seriously needed, it is the human resources that helps to organize/utilize natural resources and without human resources or human being the resources cannot be developed or be used for a better living in the society Human resources is inevitable in the society.
- For development to be achieved the mass media must be decentralized by structures and constant. Instead of concentrating in the urban area those in the rural areas should be carried along even with a community radio because they require such services. The villagers should be allowed to contribute to the constent of the mass media.
- The traditional media could however be restructured to suit our modern needs. Literate members of the community should be appointed town criers so that apart from disseminating information from the ruler of the town to the people, they should be placed on salaries and be provided with radio, television and newspaper with which they should receive government news and information to disseminate same to the people.
- Private enterprises, individuals should be encouraged to establish and develop community based newspapers, magazines and viewing centers, such community based press should focus primarily on the local community and not on the state.
- Adult education centers should be encouraged to improve material and human resources in the rural areas.
- Journalists, who are practicing in the urban areas should not neglect their home based/traditional media of communication, they should help by teaching and motivating the ruralites in the best way to achieve development, both for the community and the nation at large without discrimination.
- Developmental programs such as “operation go back to the farms’’, monthly sanitation exercise and family planning should be practicalized by government and the campaigns will be sent to the market women.
- There should be an effective communication this is because, it is the life blood of every society, it makes us what we are today. Both rural dwellers, urban dwellers and the government should indulge in an effective communication to enable us achieve a better goal. The felt needs and action needs of the people should be properly communicated to the government through the various traditional medium of communication for rapid development of our various communities.
CONCLUSION
This study has attempted to identity the traditional media of communication in Iwollo oghe community and other rural communities. The study also tried to determine the functions of these traditional media. It also went further to examine how the media could be established and developed as an integral component of the rural socio- economic institutional infrastructures.
The results of the research have shown the need and importance of traditional means of communication for the effective rural developement.
Due to Limited resources and low level of education, majority of the rural populance have no access to modern media. example, radio, television and newspapers.
Opubor pointed out that the process of transmitting new ideas from passive to an active state is through an atmosphere of participative communication involving dialogue, co-operation, respect and sharing of initiatives for an effective rural based communication which would enhances development, hence, these recommendations were made.
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