Professor of Development Communication at Verital University Abuja, Prof. Kenneth Asor Tsebee (Ph.D.), FIPMD has called on the federal and state governments in Nigeria, through their
Ministries of Information, to evolve concrete policies regarding
information and communication media for optimum result in the rural transformation of Nigeria.
He expressed concern that the current pattern of information flows in Nigeria’s rural transformation is largely inadequate for achieving deep transformation on the sustainable development goals.
Prof. Tsebee noted this at the 8th inuagural lecture, titled: “Potentials of development communication for sustainable rural transformation in Nigeria” on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the major gap in Nigeria’s development communication
strategies lies not in the absence of communication but in the
wrong approach to communication.
According him, having reviewed existing models of development communication based on existing literature, his new model for rural transformation known as “The
Oral Song Composer Model for Rural Transformation” aligns most strongly
with people centered culturally grounded models of developmentcommunication such as participatory, multiplicity and empowerment models rather than the top-down or media imperialist models such as
diffusion of innovations, modernisation and dependency ones.
He said his model provides fresh insights on the reliability of oral songs as an
emerging development communication approach for sustainable rural
transformation in Nigeria.
According to him, their reliability lies mainly in their cultural
relevance and accessibility which agrees with my scholarship output in the
field of development communication.
“It is disheartening to state categorically that rural people continue to live a life of misery and squalor despite government’s acclaimed transformation process.
“The situation in Rural Nigeria today is characterized by: Persistently high poverty and limited economic activities, major gaps in infrastructure especially roads, electricity, and broad band.
Others are :” Food insecurity tied to conflict, climate stress, and weak agritech support, continued insecurity that undermines livelihoods and market stability.
“There are some policy and development responses but progress is slow relative to need. Development Communication (DevCom) can reverse many of the negative conditions in
rural areas of Nigeria, but only if applied strategically, participatorily and along side
supportive policies and infrastructure,” he said.
