TRADITIONAL MODES OF COMMUNICATION IN COMMUNITY RELATIONS

1.1 Background of the Study

In the wake of evangelization and the subsequent colonization of many parts of the African continent, before the whites made advancement to Africa, Africa South of the Sahara had evolved in its ways of life. They lived their lives, died their deaths; cultivated, ate, built, sang, danced, healed their sick, created and had their traditional modes of communication for communicating with its dwellers (Konkwo 1997, P.1).

Oral media is a concept that describes traditional media or indigenous media of communication in Africa. It is a multi-channel communication system which is employed I most rural areas (villages, clans, towns and wards) as well as in rural-urban setting. It is a visual, instrumental but essentially an oral process which depends on the effective use of auditory system.

This process is also referred to as traditional communication. The nature of the traditional media gives them an advantageous edge over the mass media. It is interpersonal, interactions or face to face by nature. It is as well complex. This is because it is only one system which operates at various levels of society.

Okunna (2001, P.35) suggests that traditional media can be used to mobilize the people at the grass not level of community development and national consciousness. No serious mass-oriented development programme, especially in rural communities can succeed without the active involvement of the inhabitants within the traditional system.

Traditional media of communication can also be used for the purposes of agenda-setting. In this case, the communicator who speaks to the people in the village or market square, in the church or mosque, in small or large family groups, age grade or town union meetings, has a greater chance of convincing them to participate in poverty reduction efforts of government than where such communicator is operating from a distance as is often the case in mass media.

The use of songs, dances and drama to teach people new farming techniques, encourages them to be self-reliant, acquire good education in their interest and that of the society. This constitutes of active strategies of using traditional media to mobilize people for development projects and for setting agenda. The audience sees the communicator and asks questions where necessary.

Feedback is immediate and necessary clarifications are made for effective communication. McBride observes that example abound where songs, drama, dance groups and the like are used to promote campaigns against social evils such as alcoholism, burdensome do writes, discrimination against woman archaic taboos or for advances in farming, health, nutrition and farming welfare, agricultural reforms, national integration and similar national goals.

The Oral media instruments employed in any rural communication situation depend largely on the type of information that the gatekeepers want the public to know and this in turn depends on the final authority of the traditional overlord. Journalists set agenda in the traditional media by serving as gatekeepers who media between the politicians, the audience and the media

For years gatekeepers have been some of the most powerful people in the stories promote trends, so the journalistic wheat from the chaff and some would argue, restrict the flow of information. Therefore, traditional media is used for promotion, publication and public relations etc. products, services; events, persons, idea etc. are promoted and publicized. In each situation, the traditional news man encourages people to accept person(s), ideas etc.

In traditional African society, the social environment in which communication takes place includes: the Ezi-na-ulo (Family), the kindred (Umunna), the village (Obodo), the clan or town.

First, the family provides the initial environment where primary socialization of the child into the more complex world of the adult takes place. The family extends to Umunna where the male child who has been initialed interacts and deliberates on issues of communal interest of kindred are the depositors of knowledge and experience, the walking library. The village extends to the ethnic group (clan) who are not necessarily related, but functions as it were under common cultural and linguistic ties. A child becomes fully human whom he is received by elders mostly through ritual presentation.

There is a diagram here in MS-Word Version of this material with Source: Uchendu, Ahajioku Lecturer, 1995 cited in Konkwo, Perspectives in African Traditional Communication System 1997.

you will get the complete material at the end of this writeup

A community relation on the other hand is that branch of public relations that has emerged from what used to be referred to as corporate social responsibility. It is concerned solely with how to create an enabling environment in the host community so that the company can carry out its activities without any hindrance, but rather with the assistance and support of host inhabitants.

In the perspective of the researcher, community relations is a social engineering activity persistently planned, employed and executed to establish a powerful cordial relationship and understanding among communities and companies which normally attracts positive image and goodwill.

Community relations in rural communities sharpen the awareness of people of their own history, evoke deeds of illusion of ancestors and magnifies past events. Effective communication is paramount to enhance perfect understanding between the host community and the company. Lack of understanding has often bred resentment of the company by the host community especially in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. Relly (1981, P.97) underscores the importance of communication thus, “if communication were perfect, there would be few problems in the world. We would all understand one another”.

The problem becomes now to effectively utilize these traditional media to bring about unity, progress, and development etc. of the rural people in various communities with reference to Orji. This and many others promoted the researcher to undergo the task of finding and preferring solutions to these problems in other words attracting government development, social mobilization etc. among the rural people who constitute almost 80% of the population of the nation.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

With the advent of the new technologies, the traditional media of communication is very expedient in rural communities used for effective communication has been neglected and sidelined. This has hindered the integration of the rural people in the activities and programmes of the government in most communities.

The neglect of the power of these media by companies to communicate to the rural people has breaded and is still breeding crisis in communities especially in the oil producing area of the Niger Delta. Finally, lack of audience analysis, poor delivery, poor environment, and poor content of the message of traditional media in community relations has made/is still making the messages suffer fidelity and authenticity loss and such aspects of the message lost to the younger generation. These nexus of problems prompted this study.

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1.3 Objectives of the Study

The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To ascertain the best and most effective traditional mode of communication for attracting development in Orji Autonomous community.
2. To demonstrate how traditional media can be used for the purpose of agenda-setting.
3. To find how best the messages from traditional media which has suffered fidelity and authenticity loss as a result of poor content, poor delivery, poor environment can be reduced.
4. To make comparism between the traditional modes of communication and the modern media to determine the one most appropriate in Orji.
5. To ascertain how information on the function and operations of all identifiable media and channels used in traditional communities with a view to passing them to the younger generation can be made more available.

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1. 4 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in the following ways:

1. It will encourage companies operating in different communities in the world to act responsibility to avoid crisis and as well make the host communities to appreciate their effort and support them for the development of such communities.
2. It will surface as a reference material for all mass communication students.
3. It will help by assisting researchers investigating.

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1.5 Research Questions

• How best and most effective can traditional mode of communication for attracting development in Orji Autonomous community be?
• How can traditional media be used for the purpose of agenda-setting?
• How best can the messages from traditional media which has suffered fidelity and authenticity loss as a result of poor content, poor delivery, poor environment be reduced?
• How can it be compared between the traditional modes of communication and the modern media to determine the one most appropriate in Orji?
• How can information on the function and operations of all identifiable media and channels used in traditional communities with a view to passing them to the younger generation be made more available?

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1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is Orji Autonomous community in Owerri North Local government area of Imo State.

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1.7 Limitations of the Study

The following factors posed problems to this study.

• Non-availability of relevant materials during the course of this exercise.
• The short time and cost of traveling to source for materials used for the study.
• The nonchalant attitude of respondent to questions due to lack of knowledge on the importance of research in the contemporary world.

The research therefore, is limited to the study of five villages as against the nine villages that make up the community.

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1.8 Definition of Terms

Conceptual

Community:

It is people living together in a place, district or country considered as a whole.

Dissemination:

The giving out or spreading of information to the/among the rural dwellers using any media of communication.

Integration:

The coming together of rural dwellers who have been separated as a result of one problem or the other.

Development:

The gradual growth of communities and its people to enable to it to be more advanced and stronger.

Mobilization:

To work together in order to achieve a particular aim and to organize a group of people to achieve their aim.

Operational

Traditional Modes of Communication / Oralmedia:

These are traditional media which emanates from interplay of customs, which is used for conveying messages to the ruralities e.g. drums, signs, bush burning etc.

Community Relations:

It is a public relations function that allows an organization to establish a planned, mutual and sustained relationship between itself and the community they operate in to attract good name.