CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

          The difference in development between rural and urban settings in Nigeria is brought by government concentrating social amenities in the state capital and local government council head quarters. (Uhunmwode local government_ “Ehor” there is no doubt that individual in the rural areas as well need the social amenities that are provided in big towns to enable them feel comfortable for better habitation. The social amenities initiated and provided by communities includes postal agencies, pipe borne water, electricity, maternity centres and dispensaries to mention a few. According to Idahosa (1991) referred to these social services provided by the communities as self help. It is a massive local involvement which ha popularized the initiative of the rural persons to fear for themselves in an effort to develop their communities.

          There are evidence in literature that the action taken to sustain self help through out Edo State and Nigeria are not only in realization that self help is an essential optimum development but also for the awareness that self help can tremendously improve the living standard of every body in the rural setting and this improves their status. As a result of the role of self help in National development communities engages in self help activities are enjoying the support of the various government at different levels. They assist individuals, communities to develop to the extent that their human and materials resources can allow white attracting from government on viable projects that they are interested in during the official opening of Obadan. Modern Primary Health Care centre Ohuan Ward Uhunmwode Local Government. Built by Elanire Danjuma.

          The community got this hospital through self help by conduct. However, the political oracle of knowledge that was behind the self help struggle was the person of Mr. Dickson Imasogie who has been of good and influential position for the community, when he was the leader of Ohuan Ward under the PDP plat form. Furthermore, the youths and elders of Obadan are ready to embark on more self help so as to attract the general public and to call the interest of the government to assist them. However, it is imperative to note that communities aught to be given orientation of the benefit of self-help so as to enable most rural areas sub-0urban areas develop properly, following this recent trend of the three communities. In Iyekogba put head together and embarked on a massive road self-help development which attract the interest of the government to come to their aid and continued from where their community stopped. These communities are Okoromi, Egbiri and Obazagbon all at Iyekogba on 20/01/09.

          The community pulled resources together to connect the road (various road) and they also move a step or motion to get or sink a bore hole and electricity all the leader of the three communities agreed so that the villages can further develop and look more heritable and this also draw the attention of the government to support such development. Honourable Nosa Ehima admonish the communities and other communities until their villages became two remote, with bad road and dilapidated buildings before embarking on self-help that has such will bring bright and publicize their communities for better economic social and political growth and development. The ability of any community to provide social amenities in its area has become a measure of a community’s fame. Ultimately, self-help is a major virtue supported by government. Every community wants to compete and excel other communities with available resources so as to win respect through accelerating pace of development.

          The Nigeria government and the various communities acknowledge the value of self-help in the development of com unities. Thus the communities have been called upon by various governments to engage in self-help in providing social amenities in their areas to support the efforts of government as it is in many states in the world. Communities work is essential concerned with affecting the course of social change through the two process of analyzing social situations and forming relationship with different grou0ps to bring about some desirable change. It has three main aims the first is the democratic process of involving people in thinking deciding planning and playing an active part in the development and operating of services that affect their daily lives, the second relates to the values for personal fulfillment of belonging to a community. The third is concerned with the need in community planning to think of actual people in relation to other people and the satisfaction of their needs as person rather to faces attention upon a series of separate needs and problems.

          Lovett Tom, Adult Education Community Development and the Working Class Ward Lock Education work in Liverpool was motivated by similar objectives with the emphasis on working class communities. Communities adult education brought to support the activities of local people in their efforts to play a positive role in issues affecting their daily lives. It was concerned to assist in the process of personal fulfillment by emphasizing the opportunities afforded by education to strengthen community bonds and at the same time to widen the choices available to individual in such communities comparing the rural system and planning confirmed that “the expectation of the federal and state government that communities should provide available amenities in their areas as a means of accelerating development is still a dream “thus Myerere Jr. declared “this is not surprising because some communities are not endowed with sufficient human and materials resources as others and the government with the federal characters posture is not helping there that government rely on self help to develop community./ the continuous reliance on self help has remained a primary source of discomfort on the inability of less privileged communities to play the same role. Thus, it seems logical to work at the roles of self help in community development programmes in Obadan it is hoped that this could be a source of information to improve the standard of living of the rural areas to Obadan to meet the expectations of Uhunmwode local government area of Edo State and Nigeria in general self-help project in Obadan Uhunmwode local government area.

          A perusal of the records kept Obadan community office reveal the self help project embarked upon by the communities.

Project embarked upon

Community embarking on the project

Estimate cost

Contribution by the local community

Year started

work done

Town hall

Dickson Imasogie

350,000

42,000

2002

Obadan

Health centre

Danjuma Ehanire through Dickson Imosogie

1.9000,00

100,000

2003

2004

Bore hole

150,000

150,000

1984

1984

Grading of roads

None

Physical strength with local tools

-

Every year

Source: Uhunmwode local government office Ehor.

          Clement Igbinukpogie in an interview in 2008 highlighted the roles of the front line workers to include initiating self-help project in communities where the initiative is lacking besides where the initiative exists, they help communities to plan organized and guide them to raise fund to start any project through levy appeal to social groups voluntary agencies, indigenes to donate in kind or cash launching of projects from government to help communities in Obadan are the guides that enable them start off and conclude projects which they started.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

          The research is designed to cover Obadan community which is located in Uhunmwode local government area with its secretariat at Ehor. The study is concentrated in Obadan and on role of self help in community development programme in Obadan.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

          Communities in other part of Nigeria used self help efforts to effectively develop their stages. Edo State has since recognized the value of self help and has always called on its community to take leading role in self movement. Unfortunately, these communities have not been able to meet these challenges. Scholars such as Anka D. L. W. and Onokerhoraye A. C. (1985) have attributed the inability of most rural communities to cope with these challenges to scare human and materials resources at the disposal of most local communities. Some others have said that the failure was caused by government leaving the rural communities to feed for themselves. Some critics of self help programmes such as Oniboku A and Rogge J. R. (1981) have argued that the inability of most communities to evolve meaningful self help project have been due to the non availability of sufficient forward looking individuals in the rural setting and administrative problems.     

          This study therefore seeks to investigate the role orientation of development communities in self help programme in Uhunmwode local government area in view of government determination to encourage and give support to the development of communities through self help effort. Specifically, this study will answer the following questions:

1.            What are the roles of development committees in self-help programmes embarked upon by communities in Obadan?

2.            The role of the female differs significantly from that of the males?

3.            Do the roles of self-helps differ significantly between rural and urban development committees?

4.            Do roles of development committees differ in relation to the incentives they receive from government?

PURPOSE OF STUDY   

1.            The purpose of this study is to show whether there is differences in the roles of self help among female and make community members.

2.            Whether there are differences in the roles of self help among rural and urban dwellers.

3.            The study is to reveal whether there are differences in the role of community members as a result of the incentives they received from government.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 

          This study will increase the existing literature in adult education as a discipline. Beside it will give rural dwellers better understanding of the roles of self help and this channel their effort to move viable projects.

          The findings will enable communities to intensify efforts towards ini6tating more viable projects to improve their areas?

          This work will be useful to local government in monitoring the roles of self help in development process.

          This work will be useful to policy makers and administrators in gaining greater understanding of the roles of self help in communities.

ASSUMPTIONS

          The basic assumptions in this study is that role of self-help in community development programmes is a strategy designed to increase the rate of development in Uhunmwode local government area.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.            Does participant in self help project than male in community development programmes”?

2.            Do rural area participate more in self help than the urban centres?

3.            What is the level of government financial support for self help project in Uhunmwode local government council?

4.            What is the level of local government council moral support for self help in community development projects?

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

Community: Persons in the same environment putting their resources together to develop their area.

Community development: As something dealing with the sequence through which communities (or their segments) go as they advance from pre-industrial to industrial ones.

Development: derived from verb form “develop” according to oxford advanced learners dictionary of current English, it means to grow larger, fuller or more mature or organized.

Development means a new state has been reached as consequences of developing.

Development programme: Project capable of improving the living standard of communities.

Programme: List of project meant for implementations.

Roles; The part played by every community members in the project embarked upon by committees through communal effor6ts to improve their standards of living.

Social amenities: The basic necessities like pipe-borne water, hospitals, maternity centres, electricity, postal agencies etc to make an area developed

Viable project: Work embarked upon by communities which are capable of attracting government assistance.

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