THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF ABRIBA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ABIA STATE IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background of the Study

Development, in its most holistic sense, is recognised as a multi-faceted transformation involving shifts in societal structures, attitudes, and institutions. It encompasses accelerated economic growth, reduced inequality, and the elimination of extreme poverty. As highlighted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (2000), achieving meaningful development hinges on the capacity of policymakers to drive structural reforms across various sectors of the economy. Such reforms should lead to comprehensive improvements within the social system, addressing the diverse needs and aspirations of individuals and communities, especially those in rural areas, thereby uplifting them from conditions widely viewed as inadequate to standards deemed materially and spiritually fulfilling.

Rural development involves more than just raising income levels—it includes enhancing the quality of life for rural inhabitants. This encompasses improvements in nutrition, health, education, housing, recreation, and security. Though traditionally linked to the agricultural sector, rural development should go beyond farming to embrace the broader scope of economic progress in rural communities. With approximately 70% of Nigeria’s labour force engaged in agriculture, typically small-scale and reliant on local resources, any meaningful rural development agenda must consider this demographic.

Worldwide, women have emerged as vital contributors to national development. Their influence has become significant enough to prompt global advocacy for gender parity in developmental opportunities. In Nigeria, women have historically held prominent roles, enabling the most capable among them to attain positions of influence in politics, business, and society, leading not only their fellow women but often men as well. While some argue that women’s primary contributions remain within the domestic realm, others assert that Nigerian women have made profound contributions to national progress, making their roles increasingly central at both state and federal levels.

Traditionally, women have been referred to as the “mothers of the nation,” and in many cultures, including Nigeria, their presence is considered essential to societal growth. Yet, apathy has often characterised the participation of women, particularly in regions like Abiriba. Nevertheless, since Nigeria’s independence, women have actively participated in political, economic, and social development. Pioneers such as the late Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Chief Mrs. Bola Balogun, Late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola, Dr. (Mrs.) Jokumba Dosunmu, and Chief Mrs. Bosede Osin, among others, have significantly advanced women’s emancipation and contributed to broader societal development.

The involvement of rural women in community development has sparked considerable academic interest, especially within development studies. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to explore the role women play in rural development, focusing specifically on Abiriba Local Government Area in Abia State, Nigeria.

1.1 Statement of problem

Despite significant improvements since attainment of independence in Nigeria like many nations in the developing world, extreme poverty remains widespread. The Nigerian economy began to experience recession from the early 1980 and as a result, she moved from middle level income and a developing industrial nation to become one of the poorest nations in the world (Central Bank of Nigeria, 2002-2003). Specifically, the incidence of poverty has been high and upward swinging since 1980. Data from the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) on the poverty profile of Nigeria (1999) showed that the incidence of poverty rose from 28.1 percent in 1980 to 46.3 percent in 1985 but dropped slightly to 42.7 percent in 1992 before rising to 65.6 percent in 1996.

The rural areas in most parts of Nigeria exhibit great poverty, poor health condition and ignorance as a result of varying degree of geographical, social and political isolation. In Nigeria, more than 75% of the population live and work in rural areas though the emphasis of spatial planning has for a long time been on urban areas rather than regional problems whereby the rural areas would have benefited. This has led to the relegation of the rural areas to the background in the spatial economy of the country resulting in a wide spread of rural-urban migration of able women. This problem has been compounded by unattractive opportunities of generating income from agriculture.

Women rarely have access to the resources that would make their work more productive and ease their heavy workload. Ultimately, it is not just women who are held back, but also their families, their communities and local economies. Despite their many responsibilities, women have significantly less access to the resources and services they need to increase their productivity and their income and ease their burden of household duties. Women are held back by lack of education, unequal property rights and limited control over resources. It is on this backdrop that this research will examine the role of women in rural development with particular attention to Abriba Local Government Area of Abia State.

1. 2 Aim and objectives of the Study

           Having observed the various problem militating against women participation in the attainment of development in areas as policy making, implementation and involvement in the program and projects for development it is therefore needful to point it out here that we communities should make use of it’s human (non-power) resource available for the attainments of development.

          The purpose for this study is aimed at encouraging women at the rural communities that they have to rise up to the challenge of emancipating themselves from the old views held about them in the society. the research work aimed at informing agents of government responsible for positive growth and development to give adequate support to women so that they can appreciate their roles and play it better than before.

          To examine the involvement of Abiriba women in the development of the community starting from the pre-colonial period and extend to the contemporary time and to educate the men folks on the needs to accommodate the women properly in all issues relating to the society, although right from the creation of the world the women are regarded as helpmate.

1.3     Scope of the study

          This study is intended to address various issues as it affect the role women play in community development using Abiriba as a case in point. All these include position of women in the decision making process of the community, the examination of the level of women participation in political social  development in Abiriba in particular. The study will examine some of the obnoxious culture and tradition of the people that end anger or limit the economic contribution by women in community development.

1.4     Research methodology

          This research project made use of two (2) major source which are primary and secondary sources. The primary sources used for this study are oral interviews conducted within the area covered by the research.

          The secondary sources were gotten from published works among which are: text books journals internet publication.

1.5     Literature review

          There is need for a review of the work and opinions of some scholars on the role of women in rural development. To this end a couple of review have been presented below;

          According to C.B Nwahukwu in his book “Development and administration in New and emergent states”, he defines development as an integral process of indenting opportunities for individual social groups and territorially organized communities at small and intermediate scale and mobilizing the full rang of their capacities and resources for the common benefit in social, economic and political terms. He further argued that the specific type of development initiated by the politico-administrative elites is the most suitable one for all the other members of society and should therefore replace other existing notions of development.

          However, C.B Nwachukwu saw women as a catalyst in the developments process. He argued that women occupied a very important social, economic political position in pre-colonial Nigeria. It is said that in all the main areas of economic activity agricultures, trade and manufactures, women played outstanding roles. They were major sources of labour in agricultures.

          Anikpo, M.O.C. in his book titled “Foundation for Social Science Research”  argued that the western type of education sets new set of social values and legal systems act as some of the reason for women, inferiority. Yet for Nigeria; at least the Federal Office of Statistical (FOS) estimated the rural women population of Nigeria to be 51.6% in 1985. The 1991 provisional census figure shows that women constitute 49.6% of Nigeria’s population. In this study area used here, women constitute of 50.48% which is very close to national figure. Two inferences can be made from the above statistics. The first is that it will be sheer planning and executive development efforts. Secondly, women are likely to be the best contributors and the most affected by the consequences of development efforts in any community. Thus women constitute a critical proportion of the productive population of Nigeria. “Africa politics” by Emezi, C.E and Ndoh C.A said that women contribution to environmental development are many. The role of women in environmental education start from home with the different vigorous domestic work chores. Children are taught, which ranges from sweeping to cleaning and washing both plates and their body. In doing so they don’t only learn to keep the environment clean. By so doing the women train their children on the basic environmental ethics ranging from body clearing to general house cleaning. They are indeed the first known environment educators.

          O Moachu cited in Ndoh’s book on “African Politics” revealed that women play a decisive part when it comes to fighting poverty. In Nigeria women are exposed to considerable discrimination even though they assume a particular important key role in this country’ process of development inspite of relatives  improvement, politic. This ugly situation had negative effect not only on their effective participation in development programmes but also on their development programmes but also on their capability to attain self realization and fulfillment.

          Lai Oturode in “women and social changes in Nigeria” he agrees that he traditionally and historically, women occupied various positions in various societies. In ancient Rome Althens and Egypt for instance women occupied various position which were defined by the cultural norms and values of these societies rather than what they would get for them. Dr. Sophic B. Olurode agreed the traditional African societies would reserve remarkable power for women but inspite of this, they were not allowed to use their power. The issue remains that going by the functionalist approach, women are a part of the society and have certain functions that they exhibit.

          According to Afigbe, A. E in his book title “Women as a factor in Development”, agreed that to the extend mankind needed all it’s physical and mental energy to achieve the much longed for transformation of their environment and social condition of existence, women regarded as units of physical energy came to be seen in new height as very  important factors for success in development. He went further to argued that essentially preoccupied with the orthodox volition of domestic roles and achievement finely did not see it fit to consider that it was possible that it was the secure home and domestic happiness place which the silent women of Rome provided for their men folk that made them to venture out and perform the brave deed.

          As pointed by Okojie M. I. “Women in Management”, paper presented at the new conference on contribution of women to national development; agrees that women not only work hard whether in the formal or informal sector of the economy, but it would be noted that women are good managers. Women are managers of situations whether in the home at the far. A places of worship, mosque, at work setting etc. these women manage people, challenges changes etc. and adopt to circumstance of scarcity and certainties in the economy. Yet in Nigeria today less than five (15) percents of managers in strategic sectors are women. The traits which haves often been seen in successful managers are masculinity, aggressiveness, competitiveness, firmness and justice and these qualities have been traditionally viewed as being absent among Nigeria women”.

          Walter Rodney, in his book “How Europe underdeveloped African” maintains that the role of women dependent on pre-colonial Africans show that two contracting but combined tendencies. In the first place women were exploited by men through polygamous arrangements designed to capture the labour power of women. In his view exploitation was accompanied by oppression, which at most always reduces women boast of burden. He however, emphasized mother right as a means of escape for women to attaining their right. However, Rodney by his use of the independent pre-colonial African as his reference for the assessment  of women’s role had understand the role of exploitation women were undergoing since independent in the society”.

          Pauline D., in his book “women of tropical Africa” defined the role of women in political organization in term of their participation direct or indirect in the activities of groups of sub-group, which exercise authority. To facilitate analysis the very large number of African political system has been assigned to this category of societies in which organized stat with centralized authority and administrative machinery and in which an economy based on the profit motive has created social classed between which there is unequal contribution of wealth and differences in status on the other societies in which the political structures is more or less fused with kinship organization kinship ties being the basic of social relation according to Catherine Acholonu there can be not true development nation or environmental without the full participation of women at the grass roots. There must be full participation of women leader and administration in her book title “Matherison of Afrocentrics Alternative to feminism” conclusively the emphasis of mothers right by the various writes as a means of ameliorating and restorations of women due privileges in the society was rather insufficiently treated, this was women’s African countries, even were the case of Abiriba which is our case study was not considered in the above literature.

1.6 Characterization

          This work is divided into (5) five chapters. The chapter one is about the introduction of the work that is background   of the study, aims and objectives of study, scope of the study, research methodology, literature  review, chapterization. Chapter two (2) historical background of Abiriba people, the role of women in rural development in time perspective and chapter three (3) covers the women and community development in Abiriba during the pre-colonial and colonial era, women in the development of Abiriba during contemporary time and lastly the instrument used by the Abiriba women in actualizing their aims chapter four (4) will base on the problem militating against women in playing their roles effective and prospects for women participation in the development process of the community. Chapter five will be conclusion, recommendation and bibliography.

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