Africa Media Review Vol. 1. No. 1. 1986 
© African Council on Communication Education 
Communication as Technology 
in African Rural Development 
by Frank Okwu Ugboajah* 
Abstract 
The article defines technology as a communication process, reviews the 
problems of communication technology, transfer in the African 
continent, and makes a case for definition of development 
communication. It insists that in media technology transfer, the emphasis 
should be on their cultural implications and relationships to traditional 
modes of communications. Mass media should be seen as technology 
context, a situation that allows for greater participation of the ruralites in 
various African villages, which makes for quicker and better acceptance of 
change. The article critically examines different technology transfer 
models and recommends a horizontal, humanistic or holistic model of 
communication for rural development. 
Risumi 
Cet article definit la technologie comme un processus de communication 
passe en revue les probleme relatif au transfert des technologie de la 
communication sur le continent africain et apporte une contribution pour une 
redefinition de la communication pour le developpement. L'auteur souligne 
Pimportance des implications culturelles en rapport avec les medias traditionnels 
dans le transfert de technologie dans le domaine de la communication. 
Selon Pauteur, les mass media devraient etre consideres comme une 
technologie dans un context culturel, une situation qui permet une plus forte 
participation des ruraux des divers villages Africains accelerant aussi le processus 
du changement. Particle examine de maniere tres critique les differents 
modeles de transfert de technologie tout en recommandant un modele 
horizontal, humaniste ou holistique pour la communication pour le developpement 
rural. 
'Frank Okwu Ugboajah is a Professor of Mass Communication at the University 
of Lagos, Nigeria and Editor-in-Chief of the Africa Media Review.
The Concept of Technology Transfer 
The term technology refers to different things for different schools of 
thought. To the economist it simply refers to a technical matter, an 
investment seen in terms of a rate of return or cost-benefit. To the natural 
scientist technology is looked upon as an adaptation. But broadly speaking, 
to the social scientist technology includes organisational structures, 
administrative hierarchies, equipment and process, all of which determine 
fundamental communication patterns (Schiller, 1976). In essence, 
technology is definable in terms of the pattern of communication it 
produces. This communication essence has led to describing technology as 
a process, and implies that technology is incomplete until it has been 
transferred. 
Transfer of technology, in itself, depends on a number of factors which 
includes the extent to which the technology is acquired, adjusted and 
absorbed. In general, successful technology transfer depends on the size 
and pattern of demand for securing the technology. It depends on the 
technological capacities and abilities available, also the ability to select and 
assess appropriate kinds of technology. It depends on the aptitude to adspt 
it to national or local needs and the degree of available manpower 
capabilities. 
The lack of these factors, or their non-applicability were evident in the 
failure of an aerostat balloon project planned in 1970 to solve Nigeria's 
acute telecommunications problems. By 1983 the project was still in its 
implementation stage but had cost the country 140 million naira (about US$ 
224 million) to an American Company. It had to be abandoned without a 
single infrastructure installed, but with Nigeria's massive telecommunications 
problems remaining unsolved. This "white elephant" is currently and 
shamelessly chronicled as the "Balloon Bust" in Nigeria (New Nigerian, 
26th May, 1983). 
About ninety per cent of all technological transfers originate from 
developed countries. It is thus correct to admit that international transfer 
of technology describes a fundamental characteristic of the contemporary 
world; while contributing basic pre-requisites for development and 
progress in every country, developed or developing. In addition, this 
international transfer of technology is conceptualised as providing 
developing countries with their main channels of science and technical 
know-how. To put it simply, developing countries import the results of 
research completed in developed countries. It is then an accepted notion 
that technology creates cultural homogeneity and information 
synchronism ( Osgood, 1974, "Hamelink, 1982).
The transfer concept itself creates rich (developed) countries, being 
copied or monkeyed by poor (developing) ones. The former provides the 
technology and the model of development (Nelson, 1974). An arrangement 
such as this has come to precipitate hopelessness and widespread protests of 
dependency and has led to a form of polarisation between North and South. 
Concepts such as "new international economic order" and "new international 
communication order" now form the hottest debates in international 
fora. It is becoming increasingly obvious that the introduction of such an 
order implies that each nation should have an ever clearer sense of its 
identity and vocation (UNESCO, 1977). 
Purpose 
The purpose of this paper is to discuss technological transfer as a 
process of commianication, and in doing so, communication would be seen 
as all-embracing,designed to fit what would be conceptualised as humanistic 
concentric cultural diameters. Different transfer models would be critically 
discussed with emphasis on rural transformation. Why do technological 
transfers fail in Africa? Albeit, some successful ad hoc experiments would 
be discussed. How does the knowledge gap hypothesis relate to the transfer 
of technology? Attempts would be made at giving answers to the question. 
And we shall conclude by recommending a horizontal or humanistic or 
holistic model for rural development based on the thesis of a deliberate 
political or leadership effort in which cultural orientation must be lived by 
policy makers. 
Transfer Models 
Margolin (1977) defines technology transfer as a communication 
process which implies its consideration as part of a total system of need 
assessment, programme development, evaluation and feedback. This 
notion futher implies an integrated planning of media and message and an 
examination of the media in the context of the entire system over time and 
changing circumstances. In other words, communication in development 
must be strategic and planned. 
To fulfil these planning requirements which technology entails, 
questions regarding the nature of the media processes and hardware, the 
bounds of the existing mediaconditionsin a country, must be researched and 
answered in the context of media use. As observed by Martelanc (1977), to 
rely entirely on unquestioned import of foreign know-how may prove to be
detrimental to the progress of a developing con and in the long ru, 
impede development. He suggests that alongside the imports of alien 
technology, there should be indigenous endeavours in scientific and 
technological research. In actual fact, a realistic development-oriented 
method over the long-run seems to be a mix of imported and domestic 
technology, and of the modern and the existing or indigenous. 
Domman (1975) and Postage & Lewis (1977) hold that "low cost 
indigenous technology" can place critical services within a villager's reach. 
A concept of appropriate technology which puts premium on low cost 
solutions and maximizes the potential of local resources, human and 
physical, becomes pertinent. There exists "professional overkill" in 
relation to wholly Western technology and accompanying disenchantment 
in a situation where local needs and resources are neglected. 
Woods (1977) reviews three types of technological transfer strategies 
often used for implementing national development plans. The first, the 
"trickle down" strategy, assumes that if the new technology meets the 
content criteria within the scientific discipline, then the intended clientele 
will certainly accept it unquestionably. The strategy is deemed simplistic 
because it does not consider the many influences outside of correct 
technical knowledge content. 
The second strategy is the "planned research and dissemination 
approach" which recognises the need for adaptation of discipline-oriented 
basic research in order for the intended clientele to be able to utilize the 
technology. Its other elements are persuasion and the presence of mass 
dissemination designed to persuade the intended clientele to accept and 
make use of the new technology. This approach is recognised to be more 
successful than the "trickle down" strategy in mobilising people to accept a 
new idea. Acceptance, by this method, is deemed poor, however. Research 
has found that many times where a high level of initial acceptance is present 
in the diffusion process, this is followed by a long term discontinuance of or 
even rejection of the new technology. The disadvantage of this approach is 
that it overlooks the needs, wants and abilities of the clientele. In other 
words, it is non-democratic. 
The third transfer method is the "popular participation strategy". This 
approach describes a situation in which the intended client is actively 
involved in the decision-making process, in planning and implementing 
development programmes. This strategy is difficult to implement where a 
large scale action is called for. Such extensive communication network 
might be impossible to operate between the people developing the new 
technology and the clientele. Adopters in rural areas of most developing
nations might lack the sophistication, confidence or desire for action in 
planning and implementing development .programmes. 
Woods also proposed a "push or pull" development approach for 
technological transfers. He suggests that, where appropriate, new 
technology may be developed before the time that potential clientele could 
realize that they have a need for it. It is important to develop some type of 
"push" strategy to stimulate potential clientele awareness of the need 
for the technology and provide information to decision-makers on 
the selection and adaptation of the new technology, as well as guidance 
for its dissemination. A "pull" system is important for the purpose of 
detecting clientele needs and activating the technological process. 
It has been observed that,particularly in developing countries, both the 
"push" and the "pull" systems are weak, both technology and its transfer 
must be planned as integral parts of the overall development programme 
otherwise it will contribute little to the clientele or national development 
programme goals. It has to be emphasized that the "technical knowledge" 
group (policy-makers and planners) which is responsible for the "content" 
development of new technology is only one component in the overall 
system. Planned development and transfer of technology require the 
control of both management and content. 
Ruralites and Technological Transfer 
A question always arises when we devote time to talk about this 
nebulous concept of the transfer of technology. What is the purpose and 
what is the end result of technological transfer in the rural area? Moore 
(1963) sees this exercise as erroneous because of its attitude of transforming 
traditional or pre-modern peoples towards modernization or 
simply to Westernize them (Lerner, 1963). Do they really want to be 
Westernized or do we want them to develop along the ways that would 
benefit them without alienating them in their own ways? 
Traditional, perhaps more correctly, transitional people, are 
constituted of a large proportion of rural peasants who form the majority 
of mankind and are in dire need of communication-oriented technology 
for their socio-economic advancement and other forms of organizational 
advancement. Peasantry, as put forward by Krishna (1977), is the 
backbone of Africa's rural economy. He elaborates: "In the predominantly 
agrarian societies of Africa, small holder farming plays a major role 
in producing food for both rural and urban populations and in providing 
incomes, employment and export earnings ... Few technical packages
exist, extension services are scanty, and marketing and credit services are 
deficient. These are formidable problems the resolution of which will take 
much time, effort and resources". Hill (1972) attributes the poverty of 
Batagarawa (a Hausa village in Nigeria) to the following underlining 
factors which are purely communication problems in technology transfer: 
a) inability to fully utilize their labour resources; 
b) shortage of working capital; 
c) dearth of cash-earning activities other than farming; 
d) inability through lack of money to make full use of cashearning; 
e) increased dependence on high-cost imports; 
f) social and technical costs of marketing products. 
Scott (1976) has described such "moral economy" of ruralites as that 
of subsistence, which stems from peasant preoccupation with satisfying 
minimum survival needs and providing protection against crisis periods. 
Subsistence is regarded as a right and much of rural peasant society is 
concerned with the security of that right. Minimal subsistence fot the 
peasant involves more than food. It involves performance of social obligations 
as these are defined in each society. Much of the moral value system 
of each group and their perception of what is right and just flow from this 
ethic. From it flows also the nature of economic decisions and acceptable 
alternatives, as well as unrest, resistance, and even rebellion. These are 
attitudinal and behavioral challenges. 
For the rural person, belief systems provide the "blue print" for 
informal political organisation. Because our colonizers have referred to it 
as "primitive" and "backward" or uncivilized" many urban people see 
themselves beyond the sphere of traditional culture. Cohen (1969) has 
identified belief systems as bringing out many of the most powerful 
emotions associated with the basic problems of ordinary human existence. 
Religion or a belief system gives legitimacy and stability to economic, 
social, and political arrangements. It presents these arrangements as vital 
parts of the system of the universe and thus makes it possible to mobilise 
the powers of symbols and ritual relationships to sanctify such 
arrangements. It is pertinent to note how strategic aspects of a religious 
ideology have been exploited in Nigeria by the Hausas of Sabo in Ibadan 
to their political and economic advantages (Cohen, 1969). Belief 
systems must be seen as very critical variables in communication for 
development.
Rural or peasant African societies have also been observed as having a 
high level of structural and functional integration based on relative 
cultural homogeneity and limited institutional differentiation (Ofuatey- 
Kodjoe, 1976). Such high level of integration has led to adaptation by 
indigenous societies through continued, restructuring as well as the 
realignment of cultural values and various aspects of organisations in the 
face of alien technologies and institutions or a trend towards cultural 
synchronization. Traditional values and sanctions have largely been 
undermined in the process. With the arrival of independence, basic 
structures of African societies were still relatively unaltered. 
The peasant African has often been depicted as lazy, ignorant and 
resistant to change. Rogers (1969) notes that the peasant appears an 
enigma to those who have not lived his life. As a result he is often 
characterized in a negative light. He stresses: "Just as the peasant is 
charged with lack of empathy for modern life, so might his more 'civilized' 
observer be charged with lack of empathy for the man with the hoe". And 
Goodenough (1963) notes that, of the many things that affect the course 
of community development perhaps none is more important than the 
attitude of the "peasant observer" or the development agent himself. 
To change a situation whereby 70 per cent of the labour force are on 
the farm and yet unable to feed themselves and the rest of the population 
adequately, to one in which 10 to 20 per cent of the labour force are capable 
of producing enough to feed everyone in the population and also produce 
surplus to export requires technological and behavioural innovations 
which are unprecedented in today's peasant societies. Behind such 
innovations and the resulting Socio-economic change must be a 
mobilization of resources, particularly the human resources. Information, 
otherwise strategic communication becomes a chief activity 
(Schramm, 1964), and includes literacy training, mechanical skill 
training, and the training of various kinds of personnel to bring about 
improvement in the peasant situation. All must be a part of the 
development plan. 
These necessary kinds of innovations must be looked at in terms of the 
group instead of the individual. Jamias (1975) points out that such 
innovations are of social value when they are perceived to benefit the 
greatest number of people. In this case, the reference is more to social (as. 
expressed in social justice norms) than purely technological or economic 
innovations. The social justice policy of the purely Land Use Decree of 
the Federal Nigerian Government, for example, represents an attempt to 
promote land reforms by converting private ownership of land to public
ownership which can then be reallocated by government on a tenancy 
basis to any citizen who might want the use of land for agricultural or any 
other forms of socio-economic development. The decree aims at bringing 
about an egalitarian society and bridging the gap between the masses and 
the few land owners, especially in the urban areas. But at the same time 
one may opine that splintering landed estates could be technically less or 
even unprofitable and could therefore create a situation whereby 
fundamental human rights of private ownership are being deprived. It, 
then, could be economically undesirable. However, the economic value 
ranks less in importance than the societal value towards which this 
innovation is aimed. 
Within the ambit of transfer of technology several crucial questions 
should be asked. For example, what innovations are necessary to lower 
the percentage of the work force involved in the agricultural sector, yet be 
able to feed the nation well and adequately? What revolutions do we need 
to reduce the high birth rates and bring about a desirable quality of life? 
How can we increase substantially the capital output of labour? What can 
we do to raise our low literacy rate and our low levels of educational 
attainment? How do we improve our health care delivery in order to 
increase the overall health status of the entire population? What 
revolutions do we need to increase the number of scientists and engineers 
in the work force and increase the capacity and effectiveness of our 
technological assessment and scientific research and development? How 
do we even know that we are achieving any measure of success in these 
areas? These questions are open-ended as guides for rational thinking 
among policy-makers and planners, so we-do not intend to delve into them 
inside this expose. 
One of the most significant changes in the theory and practice of 
development may be described as the demise of the GNP concept (Woods, 
1977, Case and Niehoff, 1976). That previously dominant assumption 
holds that if the gross national product is increased, the benefits of such 
increase somehow automatically "trickle down" to large numbers of 
people. Recently, it has been seen that most of the "green campaigns" 
(Operation Feed Yourself of Ghana, Operation Feed The Nation of Nigeria 
Green Revolution of Nigeria, Miracle Rice of south-east Asia) have had 
little impact in narrowing the gap between the low income masses and the 
elites in many developing countries. In fact one might argue that such 
mass campaigns even contribute to widening the gap between the haves 
and have -nots as it is the haves and not the have-nots who have the 
advantage and access to technological and financial resources needed to 
translate them into reality. 
8
It is arguable that had the "green campaign" been planned and 
implemented as commercial ventures, the companies planning them 
would have gone bankrupt. The private sector has developed to a high 
degree of sophistication with comprehensive marketing strategies which 
provide major inputs for designing new products as well as guiding their 
sales and distribution activities. To a very large extent, the public sector 
involved with fields related to national development does not have the 
"marketing approach" to assist in the creation of the new technology and 
its transfer to intended clientele, especially among the rural populations. For 
instance, in the area of manpower, Childers (Jamias, 1975) points out 
that the administration of many development programmes requires 
specific kinds of logistic and interpersonal communication inputs before 
established echelons and cadres of already over-worked and under-paid 
civil servants are ready to adopt innovations. In nearly all countries of 
Africa these civil servants are also very under-motivated and underinformed. 
Most civil services are modelled on essentially "static" 
administrations where workers are engaged basically in routine 
maintenance of routine public services, not in the development of 
essential innovative and responsive public services. Ismail Raheem, a 
principal public relations officer of a public utility company, laments the 
helplessness of the civil servant in Nigeria (Daily Times, November 4, 
1978). He questions why the public servant should always be maligned 
and held responsibile for Nigeria's development problems. Perhaps what 
is lacking in the African civil service and what has contributed to its 
ineffectiveness in respect of development programmes is that no one 
bothers about adequate communication within the civil service itself after 
programmes are developed to ensure that those civil servants whose work 
will be critical to the successful implementation of the programmes 
understand the goals and priorities of the programmes as well as their 
critical roles in the implementation. 
Considering Concentric Cultural diameters 
Successful diffusion or transfer of innovations depends upon the 
priority given to information communication in the diffusion process. 
Childers of the UNE)P/UNICEF Development Support Communication 
Service in Bangkok advocates a national system approach to co-ordinate 
and develop communication delivery services aimed at direct contact with 
those specific groups of people who are ultimately required to participate in 
the implementation of the development plan, rather than relying upon
mass media publicity to gain support foi Oeveiopmeni plan priorities. In 
fact such groups of people should be located along what this author 
describes as "concentric cultural diameters" (refer below to figure) so as 
to facilitate horizontal development. In this figure, AF represents the 
cultural diameter (CD) of the nation, BC represents the CD of the state or 
province, while DE represents the CD of the village. In the African 
situation DE cultural diameter is made up of about 70 per cent of the 
human, physical and psychological geography, the targets for whom 
communication for development is directed. 
(CD) 
CONCENTRIC CULTURAL DIAMETERS 
10
The cultural diameters would roughly demarcate different communication 
strategies for development. Projects of a national character should 
be supported by communication requiring inputs from the cultural 
diameter that cuts across the entire nation, the AF cultural diameter. In 
Africa such projects are often those aimed at bringing about national unity 
in a multi-ethnic situation. Here the communication strategy could be to 
use the electronic mass media such as radio, news papers and television as 
channels of information. For matters of rural development the DE 
cultural diameter must be reached with appropriate communication 
strategies. Efforts should be made to locate and use the most accessible 
and proximous channels, such as Oramedia (Ugboajah 1983) to reach 
and mobilize the people. 
Oramedra are great legitimizers because they are highly 
distinctive and credible. The electronic media are elitist and mighty, 
erroneously overused for public enlightenment programmes in rural 
areas ( Ugboajah, 1977). They have been organised and developed in the 
context of already-atomized societies. There is a need for communitybased 
communication which will enhance the reality - testing abilities of 
communities and the "development" person. For example, if bells are 
used for summoning a religious gathering or announcing the presence of 
an itinerant tailor or petty trader in a rural neighbourhood, if the village 
gongman uses his wooden gong for summoning an elders' meeting in the 
village square, why should these channels be discarded in summoning the 
villager to a health demonstration, to a co-operative farming lecture, to a 
child welfare workshop, to an adult education class or to an agricultural 
extensions exhibition? If palm fronds are displayed in front of village 
compounds to communicate that some items are for sale therein, why 
cannot this approach be adopted to communicate the availability of new 
cocoa seedlings awaiting distribution in the compound of a local 
agricultural representative? Why is it not possible to use special drums 
understood by the rural people to differentiate specific audience groups 
within the community for special development programmes. Who says 
that there is no audience selection or segmentation in Oramedia? 
Oramedia are appropriate for the oral culture of Africa. The DE's oral, 
interpersonal, or "man medium", form of communication is very 
important. It is an essential feature of indigenous communications 
delivery systems. Inherent in it is a power which often overcomes 
selective perception of messages.lt has a higher degree of credibility than 
the mass media system and often includes important feedback 
11
mechanisms. Within its structures are found the influence of leadership 
and legitimization of innovations. These structures then can strongly 
influence acceptance and trial of ideas which could lead to social and 
economic changes. 
It is quite important that, with the development of the mass media in 
Africa, indigenous sytems of communications would be fully identified 
and integrated in the communication delivery and technology transfer 
systems used for the DE sectors. As rightly pointed out by Rao (Gunaratne 
1976) man's image of his environment is shaped by his experience. 
Africans should make a break with their urban-oriented colonial heritage 
in their development format. Gailey (1970) points out vividly that the 
colonial administrators were rulers, not men prepared to search out 
patiently the mainsprings of a complex society they were charged to rule. 
He elaborates: 
"Most could not speak even the languages of the coast and could 
converse with the (natives) only through interpreters who more often 
than not told them what they believed the white man wanted to hear. 
They had never been trained in anything esoteric as the newly 
emergent discipline of anthropology. Although not despising the 
native, they were convinced of his inferiority. Much of their selfconfidence 
came from an almost single-minded belief that British 
virtues were the best and that the major purpose was to share, if only in 
small degree, these blessings with the poor Afrcan". 
It is this author's contention that such colonial mentality still 
pervades administrative thought and leadership styles in all our 
development programmes. Perhaps that is why we have failed 
consistently in our development efforts. This thoughtfully reminds me of 
a little poem. 
"How I wish there was some wonderful place called the Land of 
Beginning Again. Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and 
all our poor selfish grief, could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the 
door and never put on again." 
There is one country in Africa, Tanzania, which is appearing to have 
found that "Land of Beginning Again" (Bordenave, 1977). But it would 
take time and sacrifice. With its policy of self-reliance, Tanzania has 
recognised that its own indigenous delivery systems can be more effective 
than imported types in serving its peoples needs. Although radio has been 
found the most effective medium in the transfer of technology in that 
country, this medium's mass and transient nature has been modified to be 
more effective by the formation of "oramediated" listening groups in the 
12
rural villages to act as motivational interpersonal relays lor radio 
information. The radio audience of Tanzania is estimated at 8 million in a 
population of 13 million. This means that about 61 per cent ol Tanzanians 
participate in communication-oriented innovation transfers supported by 
posters and group-leader's manuals tied closely to the lingual, social, 
economic and political characteristics and policies of the country. 
Contrast the Tanzanian situation with that in Southern Nigeria which 
has more than twice the population of Tanzania. Sports, genera! 
entertainment and educational programmes were, as recently as 1975, 
broadcast wholly in English, a non-African, non-Nigerian language 
(Conolly, 1975). Even today communication in English dominates 
strategic Nigerian national broadcast scenes. 
Motivational aspects and acceptance of development programmes as in 
Tanzania, can be enhanced through specific channels, such as through 
applying the message to the day-to-day experiences of the target 
population, the active and visible participation in the programme of 
representatives of the target individual's reference group and peers, direct 
and indirect support of gatekeepers at all levels, the incorporation of the 
relevant CD variables (languages and folkways) into the programme, and 
continuing reinforcement from other channels of the media system. 
Some Successjul Communication Experiments In Rural 
Development 
"Don Manuraa" (For Farmers), is an encouraging innovative 
agricultural programme on the air of Radio Kaduna in Nigeria (Lgboajah, 
1977). A farming village, "Alabarikawa" lias been created using air time 
drama. It has succeeded to be an effective way of teaching rural peasants 
the procedure and rules of mechanized farming, nutrition and how to cater 
for new crops. Agricultural research findings have been successfully 
simplified into Hausa songs and effectively communicated to farmers. The 
programme attracts satisfactory responses and participation from 
villagers. 
Another experiment in radio farm forums for rural development was 
tried out in Ghana by UNESCO between December 1964 and April 1965 
(UNESCO, 1968). The experiment showed that radio broadcasting 
when skillfully used can be an effective medium of communication for 
rural development and change. It also underlined the need for creativity 
in focusing on local conditions. Using this approach, "the radio audience 
can become, through group listening and discussion, an adviser to the 
13
radio producer to whom listeners' reactions and suggestions must be 
constantly reported". During this experiment about 43 per cent of 438 
respondents were able to identify or differentiate farm radio forums from 
other types. At least 81 per cent of them listened to this development 
support communication experiment during its period. The only flaw is 
that such successful experimental projects die out as soon as the donor's 
money dries out and is hardly sustained by the host government. 
Development Communication Campaigns 
Planners for development campaigns should think always about 
systems of communication rather than about the use of specific media 
alone. As long as the communication is extended, the action required is 
energised, the psychological mood is set and the audience is educated, it is 
unnecessary to worry about any one or two given media. Civil servants in 
most African countries suffer from the propensity of chosing the mass 
media alone for almost all development campaigns. This might be because 
of their relatively low cost,their convenience, and belief in their special 
glamour or an inaccurate belief in their effectiveness, not realising that 
communication for development should be a multi-strategy approach 
devised to reach the target audiences whereever they are found-on buses, 
in trains, in the market places, in villages, in entertainment centres, in 
fishing creeks, in schools, in factories, or even in places of worship. This 
approach underscores the ritualistic ideology behind communication 
strategies as a CD orientation. 
Every technology campaign should have a theme or platform (Byrnes, 
1975, 79). An example, in the case of Nigeria, is "Operation Keep Lagos 
Clean". Although some themes usually become rallying cries, it would 
appear these themes can be dysfunctional for many of the people they are 
intended to inspire. A well-selected theme can be of help to focus efforts 
and build common enthusiasm but in itself the theme alone cannot be 
successful in a personal sense for each of the persons whose performance 
must be influenced to meet the goal. Much as the "Operation Keep Lagos 
Clean" was a good theme for a health campaign, the "Operation" failed 
because its planners appeared not to have done proper problem analysis as 
to why Lagos is perpetually unclean (Ugboajah, 1977). Apart from the 
fact that the campaign was restricted to non-problem geographical areas of 
Lagos, the multi-ethnic nature of the social demography of the city and its 
satellites received very little consideration. As a result messages via the 
mass media and in posters were only in English and Yoruba (which is not a 
14
homogenous ethnic language inside the target). Moreover the demonstration 
of a model house designed to teach the low-income inhabitants the 
advantages of sanitary living cost the City Council f*7,700 (about US$ 
12,000) to build. 
This obviously would be too expensive for the low income target (the 
main target) of the campaign to afford. This alone betrayed the fact that 
the objective of the campaign was not well understood or designed by the 
planners. The campaign became a failure. 
Knowledge Power Versus Knowledge Gap 
Development planners and those who man the communication aspects 
of development must realise that cooperatively they constitute the 
gatekeepers of knowledge. Knowledge is basic to social power and the 
potential for developing power over other human lives rests with those 
who man the gates in the communication flow (Donohue, Tichenor and 
Olien, 1972:). The threat or promise of knowledge depends on the 
social, economic and political capability of a nation and is represented by 
the available knowledge infrastructure such as the mass and the group 
media. 
We are currently witnessing a proliferation of the mass media 
institutions in one African country, Nigeria, resulting from an increase in 
the social, economic and political fortunes of the country. The Federal 
Radio Corporation of Nigeria has established state stations in each of the 
19 states of the federation, in addition to the already existing stations 
owned by the state governments of the country. A national television 
authority, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), has been established 
and this has since acquired all the television stations formerly owned by 
state governments. 
Although compared with Ivory Coast or Ghana in terms of persons 
exposed to the mass media, Nigerians may still lag behind, but they seem to 
be gaining more access to knowledge via the mass media as a result of the 
country's bold investment in mass communications delivery services. To 
gain still more access to decision-making information Nigerian or 
Ghananian or Ivorian mass media institutions could, like DEPTH news of 
the Press Foundation of Asia, start the dissemination of development 
economics and population news. Through DEPTH news service, a package 
of stories on development topics and newspaper clippings on economic are 
sent via airmail weekly to some 200 newspaper editors in Asia (James, 
1975). 
15
The problem of how to bridge the knowledge gap and invariably the 
economic gap between the have-nots will continue to plague 
development planners. The paradox of the "knowledge hypothesis" 
(Tichenor, Denohue and Olien, 1970: 159) holds that as the infusion of 
mass media information into a social system increases, the segments of the 
population with higher socio-economic status tend to acquire this 
information at a faster rate than the lower status segments, so that the gap 
in knowledge between these segments tends to increase rather than 
decrease. This knowledge gap notion suggests an explanation for the 
failure of unplanned mass mediated publicity for important development 
projects. Childers and Vajrathon (1975) point out that further reasons 
for communication gap in development projects include the following: 
emphasis on physical, material or narrowly economic input and 
neglect of social factors. 
- development projects are often formulated by technical specialists 
in terms of the technology alone being available, not considering its 
social vectors. 
tendency of innovation-diffusers to ignore their cultural, linguistic 
and other handicaps to effective communication with people outside 
of their own frame of reference and technological environment, 
a wrong assumption that existing echelons of civil servants are automatically 
capable of transmitting and diffusing the innovations 
required for each new development programme, 
a wrong assumption that the ministries of information and broadcasting 
corporations (plus information units) will iook after the 
information side of projects without the further provision of 
required necessary resources. 
the permeation of most information structures by the Western ethos 
and practice of communication which is very largely non-purposive 
and has often carried with it philosophical structures against the use 
of public, state-owned media for deliberate attitudinal change. 
Conclusion: 
Some development and communication planners (Wood, 1975) have 
suggested a management information flow process in the transfer of 
technology. This process must consider the needs of the intended 
clientele as well as political policies, national development goals, 
resource availability and other factors which must influence decisionmaking. 
This process is also known as the holistic model. What the 
information flow does is to look at the creation and the adaptation of the 
16
technology so that it can be used by the clientele. It should, however, be 
devoid of professional overskill. A support communication is of criterion 
importance. This aims at building into all development programmes a 
strong communication component, which is thoroughly researched, 
planned, resourced (personnel, equipment, materials, budget), and 
evaluated as all other more traditionally provided components. The goal 
should be to adopt a horizontal approach to planning which takes due 
cognition of cultural diameters as exposed in this presentation. 
Personal contact with peasants is still important in all socioeconomic 
change. Mass media alone cannot replace this. Oramedia must 
be involved. For as Solomonov (1978) points out, at the present time 
and in the future, no novelty in the field of education or information is or 
will be able to replace the teacher or the agent or man-media as the central 
figure in the educational processes. Although such new forms may 
promote his activity, he himself will never become superfluous. Let us 
think of the African nation as a baby, born with a large head on a frail body. 
But that child will walk on its own one day, when it has developed to be 
a master and user of its environment. Communication , its adaptable 
and cultural definitions, is essential to conjure this development 
pertinently and realistically. A deliberate political effort to channel 
behaviour towards maximixing national objectives in rural development 
and integration demands a notion of culture and communication as 
interventionist agents. To be effective, cultural orientation to rural 
development must be lived by the people who are the cultural builders. 
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