This research work is on challenges of
self-help projects in Igbeagu community in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi
State. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. The
researcher used Systems Theory to analyze the work. The researcher adopted the
survey research design, and the main instrument for data collection was questionnaire.
The population of the study consist of the people of Igbeagu community in Izzi
Local Government of Ebonyi State and a sample of 120 respondents were purposely
selected from the population. It was established in the study that self-help
groups are making appreciable efforts in the task of contributing to community
development in Igbeagu, Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Based on
the findings of the study, recommendations were made that:government at all
levels should encourage communities to involve fully in all issues concerning
their development, morally, financially and otherwise conventionally; that
communities that are embarking on self-help projects should be encouraged by
ways of financial and technical assistance from the government.
TITLE. i
APPROVAL. ii
CERTIFICATION. iii
DEDICATION. iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi
LIST OF TABLES. viii
ABSTRACT. ix
CHAPTER ONE. 1
INTRODUCTION. 1
1.1 Background
of the Study. 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem.. 4
1.3 Objectives
of the Study. 5
1.4 Research
Questions 6
1.5 Significance
of the Study. 6
1.6 Limitations
of the Study. 8
1.7 Scope
of the Study. 8
1.8 Theoretical
Framework. 9
CHAPTER TWO. 11
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. 11
2.1 The
Concept of Self Help Groups 11
2.2 Concept
of Rural 13
2.3 Evolution
of Self Help Initiative in Nigeria. 14
2.4 Involvement
of Self-help Groups in Community Development 19
2.5 Various
Kinds of Community Development Efforts of Self-Help Groups in Nigeria 23
2.6 Challenges
Facing Self-Help Groups 27
2.7 Review
of Related Empirical Studies 29
CHAPTER THREE. 31
METHODOLOGY. 31
3.1 Introduction. 31
3.2 Research
Design. 31
3.3 Area
of the Study. 31
3.3 The
Study Population. 31
3.4 Sample
Size and Sampling Procedures 32
3.5 Method
of Data Collection. 32
3.6 Method
of Data Analysis 32
CHAPTER FOUR. 33
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS. 33
4.0 Introduction. 33
4.1 Demographic
Characteristics of Respondents 33
4.2 The
Concept of Community Self-Reliance. 36
4.3 The
Patterns of Community Development Process 41
4.4 The
Relevance of Community Development Initiatives 44
4.5 The
Community Participation in Local Development 48
4.6 Significance
of women involvement in to community development 51
CHAPTER FIVE. 53
SUMMARIES, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS. 53
5.1 Summary. 53
5.2 Conclusion. 55
5.3 Recommendations 57
REFERENCES. 59
APPENDIX I. 62
APPENDIX II. 63
Table 4.1.1: Sex
Distribution of Respondents. 33
Table 4.1.2: Age Distribution of Respondents. 34
Table 4.1.3: Marital Status of Respondents. 35
Table 4.1.4: Distribution base on Religion Affiliation. 35
Table 4.2.1: method of financing self-help project. 36
Table 4.2.2: Entry in to self-help project. 37
Table 4.2.3: Years in participating in self-help project. 38
Tables 4.2.4: Involvement in decision making about self-help project in the
community 39
Table 4.2.5: Respondents by their Nature of involvement. 39
Table 4.3.1: Nature of programme. 41
Table 4.3.2: Nature of contribution made. 42
Table 4.3.3: Mobilization by government agency. 43
Table 4.4.1: Benefits derived from the executed project. 44
Table 4.4.2.1: Most successful projects by self-help groups
(Igbeagu Development Union) 45
Table 4.4.2.: Most successful projects by self-help groups (Igbeagu Farmers’ Association) 46
Table 4.4.3: Level of involvement in the project. 47
Table 4.5.1: Rating community participation in the community. 48
Tables 4.5.2: Awareness of problems associated with people’s
participation. 49
Table 4.5.3: The problems of community participation. 50
Table 4.6.1: rating women involvement in self-help project in the community. 51
Table 4.6.3: Which of the project do women get involved?. 52
Historically,
African societies, and human societies in general, have sought to improve their
lot through self-help efforts otherwise known as community development
activities (Osinubi, 2011). As such community development constitutes a part of
the overall development strategy. Even before the advent of the colonial era,
people had at different times in history organized themselves into groups and
had employed combined resources to provide working facilities and bring about
improvement in their respective localities (Osinubi, 2011). This has been a
common experience particularly at times of great need, such as during
catastrophe situations or emergency. Neighbours, relatives and friends help
each other in times of need. At other times, the whole community comes together
to work on common needs or problems which they may face. For instance, they may
build local roads and bridges, clear farmlands, or form a neighbourhood watch
group to defend against intruders, or even construct some public utility
buildings, such as town halls, market stalls, schools and churches (Akinsorotan
and Olujide, 2007).
One
of the enduring and flourishing heritages of traditional African societies is
their involvement in community development efforts. It has been an indigenous
mechanism and technique employed by the people to identify their felt needs,
choose what they want and take cooperative action to satisfy their needs.
Development is all about change, which is to bring about significant and
lasting change for the betterment of the well being of people. Development
results in the improvement of the quality of life of members of a society.
There are key principles such as participation at all levels, a holistic view
to development and incorporation of social, political, economic and environmental
aspects. A holistic view to development refers to the development of all parts
of the society comprising both the urban centres and the rural areas (Bachmann,
2007).
In
Nigeria,
there is a necessity for the development of rural areas because the gap in economic
and social development between urban and rural areas in Nigeria
continues to widen leading to social crisis and dissatisfaction. Rural
development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social
conditions of a specific group of people (the rural poor). It involves
extending the benefits of the development to the poorest among those who seek a
livelihood in the rural area.
Some
past attempts to achieve rural development in Nigeria failed due to the oil boom
in the 1970s which gave people the wrong impression that government should
cater for all their needs. This consequently relegated the self-help spirit to
the background. However, the present economic reality in the country has made
the people find a lasting solution to the social and economic problems of their
communities, through Community Self-help Projects (Akinsorotan and Olujide,
2007).
Community
self-help projects are very important intervention strategies for social
empowerment, alleviation of poverty, income generation and provision of
employment. They act as a catalyst for social development in the rural areas.
Self-help projects in rural areas may consist of infrastructure projects such
as water, sewer and solid waste, community facilities to housing, essential
services such as health care, public safety and education, as well as
affordable housing projects. In cities, these types of projects are typically
planned ahead of need, and services are often provided by a single governmental
body. In rural areas, however, services and infrastructure may be provided by a
number of different entities, including non-profit corporations. Thus, the main
idea of self-help projects and rural development is that a community should
help itself by providing its felt needs (Okwakpam, 2010).
In
many rural areas, lack of critical infrastructure limits other forms of
community and economic development. Poor performance of government in meeting
the socioeconomic quests of citizens has been identified as one of the reasons
behind the proliferation of self-help projects.
It
is in this regard that the rural community jointly complements or fills the
shortcoming of government efforts in the development of the community. It is
the belief, therefore, that through self-help projects, various communities can
develop better.
The
transformation of rural environment has become the main challenge to the
economic and social development of developing nations like Nigeria
(Howarth, 2010). This challenge arises from the need to promote the welfare of
the rural people so that they can acquire a better quality of rural people.
This will lead to increase income, diversification of the economic base and
expansion of the market potential of the people (Akhimen, 2005).
Consequently,
between 1972 and 2002, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched successively
five national rural development programmes with more than eight supportive
schemes. The low level of infrastructural and human capital development of
these rural areas is a clear sign of the weaknesses and ineffectiveness of
these programmes and schemes. The decay and worsening rural conditions and the
attendant increasing rural-urban migration are evident in the long years of
neglect of these areas.
Despite
the efforts made in the past to advance rural development, the conditions of
the rural dwellers have not improved, rather they have further deteriorated. It
is against this background that this study examines “challenges of self-help
projects in Igboeze community in Izzi Local Government of Ebonyi State” . Since
the federal, state and local government was “far” from the rural areas in terms
of development and with the realization that government alone cannot provide
all their needs, the people had to learn to “do-it themselves”. However, where
government is properly playing its expected role, Self-Help activities should
complement rural development, not replacing it.
The
general objective of this work is to assess the problems of self-help projects
in rural communities. However the specific objectives are:
(a)
to identify and appraise the various kinds of
community development in Igbeagu community.
(b)
to determine the various sources from which
members of Igbeagu community fund their development projects and programmes.
(c)
to find out the level of involvement of
various community groups in the socio-economic activities of their community.
The
general objective of this work is to assess the problems of self-help projects
in rural communities. However the specific objectives are:
(a)
what are the various kinds of community
development in Igbeagu community?
(b)
What are the various sources from which
members of Igbeagu community fund their development projects and programmes.
(c)
What is the level of involvement of various
community groups in the socio-economic activities of their community.
One
of the major problems facing any developing country like Nigeria is that
of improving the living condition of the rural masses who constitute over 75%
of her population. This study on rural community is concerned with looking at
the best way of improving the political, social and economic needs of these
rural communities. In such a process, the people identity their wellbeing and
look for ways of assisting themselves through self-help.
As a result of the foregoing, this
research provide an intellectual framework that will serve as a reference point
in proffering panacea to the avalanche of challenges facing self-help projects
execution in Igbeage community of Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State
and elsewhere, by the community actors, the scholars.
The capabilities of various community
groups should be identified and put into effective use for the overall
development of our rural communities and ultimately, the development of the
country. This research as a result, focuses itself on the critical roles played
by NGOs, the womenfolk, age-grades etc, in community development.
This research reveals the problems
itself associated with self-help projects in our rural communities. This study
is also significant in the sense that it take it places the women in the
forefront of the development of their communities as against the past what they
were relegated to the background.
This study does not lay claims to the
air finality in its conclusion but rather prepares the ground for further
research on this area of study thereby, expanding the frontiers of knowledge.
This
study was fraught with many difficulties, part of the difficulty was the
paucity of find to carryout extensive research. The difficulty of sourcing
library materials and inhibited strongly against the gathering of enough
materials for the study.
In the course of the study the
researcher also experienced difficulty in gaining access to various relevant
authorities and personnel for interviews. The school library provided with
little or no succor as there were very few relevant document to the study.
This is an intellectual excursion on the
phenomenon of self-help projects in rural communities. It confines its academic
interest on the geographical of a community called “Igbeagu community”, a
community in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The study beams its
searchlight on the encumbrances and impediments that bedevils the conception
and the ultimate execution of self-help projects by members of the community of
Igbeagu.
Additionally, the study confines its
interest on various community groups that have bearings in self-help project
implementation in rural communities.
This
study uses and adopts the “systems theory” the question that comes to mind at
the first sight of systems theory is, what is a system? A system according to
C.A leads (1981) is a grouping of separate but interdependent parts which form
a complex whole to achieve some objectives. Ludwing Bertalanffy who is regarded
as the father of the complex of elements standing in interaction.
From these definitions, it can deduced
that system analysis emphasizes relationship to the whole rather than isolated
parts.
According to the system approach rural
area is a system in itself and a sub-system within the environment of the wider
national economic system. Within itself as an open system, a rural area has its
own subsystems of components and linkages. Rural social organizations and the
forms of production and distribution processes make up the rural system of
components and linkages (Okafor and Ohoherhoraye, 1986). The principal of the
rural systems are therefore social, water, farmers and their families, products
tools, traders, animals, natural vegetation, pathways, storage facilities,
transport facilities, money, co-operatives (Hewes, 1974). Consequently, any
meaningful and sustainable rural and community development strategy must take
into cognizance the systemic nature of the areas and the complexity of their
components in their relationships and attributes.
The implications of the systems-approach
to sustainable rural/community development are numerous. The rural economy is
also a system and each component of the rural economy is a sub-system of its
own with its own components attributes and linkages. The major components of
the rural system (using Nigeria
for instance) are agriculture, local crafts and cottage industries,
transportation network, markets, education and health institutions, social
institutions and organization. This means that any meaningful community
development programme must be via the multi-sectoral system approach (Ibietan,
2010).
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