CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background to the Study
In Nigeria, the rural areas are not progressing in line with urban areas or metropolitan states    in    term    having    sustainable    development    like    good    road,    electricity,    good telecommunication, transportation, good water supply, standard market and health centres, improved housing as well as improved agricultural and storage facilities that would help in sustaining the rural masses. McKnight (1995) defined the term rural development as the overall development of rural areas to improve the quality of life of the rural people.
According to Ihumodu (2003), rural development is the process of economic and social progress aimed at eradicating poverty among rural populace through provision of life and satisfying the basic needs of the people. Eradicating poverty among rural people demands appropriate skill. Rural people are endowed with quantum of knowledge and traditional skills, but at their primitive levels, that needs development to fit in properly with the modern trends of thing (Stall & Stoecker, 1998). This can be achieved through capacity building programmes. Capacity building is the process of developing skill, ability and faculties individually and collectively, that is vital in comprehending rural development and its roles in ameliorating rural poverty, ignorance, low human skill and literacy (Castelloe, 2002). All these are done to sustain the development of rural setting. Sustainable development vector (i.e. elements of desirable social objectives or attributes which societies seek to achieve through conserving natural resources (Pearce & Barbier, 1999).
Most rural societies are not able to achieve development because they lack the basic resources that would bring development or they are not able to harness and utilize the existing resources that would enable them develop their society (Robinovitch, 1994). In Nigeria, this has been serious social issue in recent time.
Socioeconomically, infrastructure and basic amenities like good road, portable water supply, electricity, health centres, markets, transportation, telecommunication, sports centers etc. affect development. This is true because, when all these essential things are lacking, development can hardly come or occur. Other important factors are illiteracy, ignorance and poverty. On the other hand, government neglect can also affect developmental process that will take place in the rural areas.
Culturally, belief system of the rural people bridge development, for example, they find it difficult to release a particularland for development due to the belief that it is on that land sacrifices are being made for the gods of their land, secondly they find it difficult to release a particular land for development to avoid the destruction of their aesthetic values like trees and other things that bring about the beauty of their area. Another cultural factor is on land tenure system (ownership of land). This implies that some land owners in the rural areas do not like releasing or letting go of their land for building of factories, schools, market, churches, health centres etc. by the government or even private individuals who are capable of doing so. By so doing, development is swept under the carpet. Fear of terror and labelling are another vital cultural factor which affect development, for example, an individual who is financially capable can withdraw his intention to develop a particular rural area due to the fear of getting him killed by armed robber and evil men or being labelled a fraudster and also a ritualist.
Rural development is a multidimensional and comprehensive concept; it encompasses the development of agriculture and allied activities, village and cottage industries and crafts, socio-economic infrastructure, community services and facilities and above all, human resources in rural areas. As a phenomenon, rural development is the end result of interactions between various physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural and institutional factors (Isife, 1998). According to Igbokwe (2000), rural development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social wellbeing of a specific group of people, i.e., the rural poor. As a discipline, it is multi- disciplinary in nature, representing an intersection of agriculture, social, behavioural, engineering and management sciences (Kata Singh, 1999). Problems of rural areas could come as a result of the already stated factors, most importantly, on the area of deliberate neglect of the rural areas by the government. According to Prelleltensky (2004), rural development problems come as a result of governmental deliberate neglect or inability of the rural community to welcome development due to their cultural belief system etc. According to rural development strategies 2002, through rural development strategies, efforts of the people and that of the government are brought together to improve the economic social and cultural conditions of the rural areas, so as to integrate them into the life of the nation and allow them to enable their people contribute more to national growth. Falcoya, (1984) on the other hand stated that rural development strategies created an avenue for rural people to organize themselves for aplanning actions, define their common individual plans to meet the needs of the community and solve their problems, execute these plans with maximum reliance upon community resources and supplement these resources when necessary with services and materials from government and non-governmental agencies
outside their communities.
In addition, the issues concerning rural development should be government involved as well as rural dwellers involved so as to achieve a better solution to rural problems. That is to say that in order to achieve a better rural development in Ideato LGA, government and the rural people should integrate their efforts together. The study therefore tries looking into the socio-economic and cultural factors militating against development in Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State.