The Role of Radio Programme in Community Development: a Case Study of Kokoro Alate on Petals FM

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Media and community Development
Community development is a way of strengthening civil society by coming together to take collective actions of communities and their perspective in the developments of social economic and environmental policy. It seeks the empowerment of local communities taken to mean both geographical communities; communities organizing around specific themes or policy initiatives (http://iproject.com.ng/linguistics-and-communication/final-year-project-topics/the-role-of-mass-media-in-community-development/project-topics).
Choudhury (2011) states that media are used as an empowerment tool, i.e. it is used as a tool to facilitate and encourage the participation of people in developmental activities. Different mass media is used to effectively communicate knowledge and information to people for community developmental purpose.
Media and community development are key concept in development communication. Considering the definition of development communication, Choudhury (2011) cites the definition of Everett M. Rogers, a mass communication expert of development communication as the uses to which communication is put in order to further development. Such applications are intended to either further develop in a general way, such as by increasing the level of the mass media exposure among the nations citizen, in order to create a favourable climate for development, or to support a specific definite programme or project. Choudhury (2011) explains that In the above mentioned definition, Rogers said that for the development of community; the community will create an environment or climate for development. This climate will be of two types;
a. physical climate and
b. psychological climate.
Inferring from the opinion of Choudhury, is easy to submit that community development through the use of media requires two ways; physical state and psychological state. The physical aspect of a community is traced down to each family unit forming the community and the psychological status can be traced down to the psychological condition of individual in such community. On this, community media programme is of importantant in the society.
Berrigan (1979) cited in the UNESCO document states that there identified media programme especially designed for particular community groups, such as ethnic or minority groups, groups with special needs or interests. With the intention of changing a particular society malady or promoting a particular orientation.Topics were chosen in the same way, by professional communicators, and targeted towards the apparent needs and interests of the audience.
Adaobi (2012) opines that media is recognized worldwide as agents of development and they had made many strides in Nigeria. Media brought about radio of which the environment was such that it could not deliver significant dividends for development. Adaobi (2012) further states that no scholar disputes the fact that the media has enormous impact on any society. The only disparity of thinking is on whether the media-induced changes are good or bad for the community. It is also a question of how long it takes for media products to cause change in the lifestyles of people. Therefore the need to be aware of the happenings around us and embrace change brought about development communication.

2.2 Radio Broadcasting in Nigeria
The history of radio in Nigeria started way back with British Broadcasting Corporation. Radio broadcasting was introduced into Nigeria in 1933 by the then colonial government. It relayed the overseas service of the British Broadcasting Corporation through wired system with loudspeakers at the listening end. The service was called Radio Diffusion System (RDS). From the RDS emerged the Nigeria Broadcasting Service (NBS) in April 1951. Mr T.W Chamlers, a Briton and controller of the BBC Light Entertainment programme was the first Director General of the NBS. The Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation, NBC came into being in April 1957 through an act of parliament No. 39 of 1956 and the Director General was Mr J.A.C Knott Obe. In 1978, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation was re-organized to become the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN (http://ww2.radionigeria.gov.ng/fr360.php?360ID=1,).
For two decades after its founding, as the local reporter station of the empire Service for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), radio broadcasting served, merely, as a hand maiden of the colonial enterprise, being the cultural arm of a political and economic process that consolidated British rule on our shores. All that changed in 1957 with the birth of the Nigeria Broadcasting Corporation [NBC]. In theory the NBC, unlike its predecessor, the Nigeria Broadcasting Service, NBS, was created to be an independent institution designed to be neutral of existing political forces on the ground and to treat all parties equally. In practice, however, that dream was never realized. Four years after it was created, just to demonstrate how unwilling the then government was to the notion of independence in the broadcast environment, the central government went to parliament in 1961 to use its majority to transform, through legislation, the independent NBC to a federal government mouth-piece (http://nigeriacommunityradio.org/chater_history.php).
Adaobi (2012) states that naturally, the philosophical foundations that gave expression to early radio broadcasting in Nigeria was unabashedly centralist and unmistakably monopolistic. The ethos was designed to serve the governance goals of a regime that was not only colonial but was typically disdainful of true democratic demands in policy formulation and implementation. It made all good sense therefore that a strong wave of agitation from the regions would counter-pose an agenda of liberalization of the airwaves against the monopoly of the central government.
Adaobi (2012) further states that since the Nigeria Broadcasting Service, NBS, which was created in 1952 made no illusions to being independent, indeed it was a governmental department, and it was not so surprising that it became the target of relentless political agitation from local and regional leaders who felt the NBS was not giving fair and adequate coverage to the activities of their regions. The statutory and policy framework that came to redress the problem was the 1951 McPherson constitution which paved the paths for regional broadcasting. Between 1959 when the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service (WNBS), was set up, followed by the Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting service (ENBS) in 1960, and the Broadcasting Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) in 1962, the Second Age of radio in Nigeria became fully consolidated. The trajectory, however, in political sequence, represented mere shifts along the same policy orientation: from the colonial, through a central to regional forms of control. Radio broadcasting, conceived at that phase, remained within the mega-structure of a political conclave that was designed and defined to primarily serve elite political, social, and economic goals.
Military incursion into the Nigerian political scene in 1966 added a new problematic to the orientation of radio. On a statistical basis, it led to the proliferation of more radio stations. Since the representation of the nation’s political structure ballooned from four regional governments in 1963 to a 12 - state structure in 1967 [Yakubu Gowon’s administration]; 19 in 1976 [Murtala/Obasanjo]; 21 in 1987 [Babangida]; 30 in 1991 [Babangida] and 36 in 1996 [Abacha], the central paradigm in the broadcast environment was indiscriminate sowing of transmitters on the whole geographical landscape. Whereas there were only 23 radio transmitters in the first two decades of radio broadcasting in Nigeria, the number had climbed to 32 in the five-year timeline between 1979 and 1983. This ubiquitous status of radio did not, however, translate to autonomy of action or far reaching grassroot power for the stations, although successive governments at the state and central level tended to advertise them so. The reality of military rule, as a matter of fact, destroyed the limited autonomy that had existed by bringing, in a command-type arrangement, the power of states and their broadcast aspirations, under the centralizing imperative of an over - bearing federal vision (http://nigeriacommunityradio.org/chater_history.php).
In the sense of a political typology of radio therefore, the first age of radio spanning the quarter of a century period of 1932 to 1957, and the second age of radio from 1957 to 1979 is best characterized as the period of the emergence and consolidation of state radio. Although this typology of radio is frequently mischaracterized as public radio, the semantic play represents the ideological challenge of an elite that sought to universalize and homogenize its identity as the dominant and essential identity of the nation. In their true expression, public radios ought to fall under the strict policy and fiduciary oversight of parliament and not that of the executive; their governance structures ought to be transparently independent and they could not, operationally, under a multiparty political arrangement, claim to advance the ethos and vision of a ruling party at the expense of the opposition as it is the case in the successive Nigerian democratic experiments.
Section 36 (2) of the 1979 Constitution ushered in the third revolution in radio broadcasting in the country. By proclaiming that “the federal and state government or any other person or body authorized by the president can own, establish or operate a television or wireless broadcasting station in the country”, it gave statutory basis to the ultimate emergence of private/commercial radio broadcasting 13 years after, when in 1992, the then government of Ibrahim Babangida finally, through the creation of the National Broadcasting Commission, decreed into existence a new era for private broadcasting. A year after, the first set of licences was handed out. It is noteworthy to recall that in 1987 when the National Conference on a National Mass Communication Policy met in Badagry, it recommended that private licences be issued to interested Nigerians. The government rejected that recommendation. A government official summed up the thinking in the administration thus in a 1989 statement: “This call (for private participation in broadcasting) is not well advised. It appear (http://nigeriacommunityradio.org/chater_history.php).
2.3 Characteristics of Radio as a Communication Medium
Akashoro, Okigu and and Ajaga (2013) state that the word 'medium' originates from the same word as 'mediate' - meaning 'to come between'. A medium is something that comes between. When we communicate from one person to another, we might be sitting close together, or separated by a great distance. The way that distance (large or small) is bridged is the medium. Radio is one medium among many. Others include Newspapers, Books, Telephones, Television. Some media (such as radio) allow one person to communicate to many others. Such media are called 'Mass Media'.
Choudhury (2011) states that the characteristics of radio as a medium of communication are;
(i) Radio makes pictures: when listening to a commentary on a radio, you could actively ‘see’ pictures in your mind of the programme that they are running its commentary. You use your power of imagination as you follow the running commentary.
(ii) The speed of radio: Radio is the fastest medium. It is instant. As things happen in a studio or outside, messages can be sent or broadcast. These messages can be picked up by anyone who has a radio set or receiver which is tuned into a radio station. If you have a television set and cable or satellite connection you may be using a remote to get your favourite channel. These days if you have a satellite connection, you can also receive radio signals of various AIR stations. Otherwise your normal radio set gives the meter or frequency on which various radio stations operate. You are tuned into that station and listen to news that happened a few minutes earlier. On the other hand, a newspaper gives you the previous days’ news.
(iii) Simplicity of radio: Compared to all other media, radio is simple to use. Radio needs very simple technology and equipment.
(iv) Radio is inexpensive: As it is simple, it is also a cheaper medium. The cost of production is low and a small radio can be bought for as low a price  in the market.
(v) Radio does not need electric power supply: You can listen to radio using dry battery cells even if you do not have electric power supply or a generator. So in a country like ours, where electricity has not reached everywhere, radio is a great blessing.
(vi) A radio receiver is portable: Radio is easy to move from one place to the other. I can be taken along to where the listener is going. That cannot be done easily with television. This facility of moving an object which is called ‘portability’ gives radio an advantage. These days if you have a car and a radio in it, you can listen to it as you drive or travel.
(vii) One does not have to be literate to listen to radio: Unless you are literate, you can’t read a newspaper or read captions or text on television. But for listening to radio, you need not be literate at all. You can listen to programmes or news in any language on the radio.
(viii) For a majority in the rural areas, radio is the only source of news and entertainment. Radio news can be heard anywhere using an inexpensive receiver. Even the most economically backward sections can afford to use the medium of radio.
Ochichi (2014) also adds that radio is the best medium of entertainment. It provides healthy entertainment to the listeners. Also, it informs people about the happenstance happening to other members of the society, either known or unknown.

2.4 Spousal Conflicts
It is important to understand that conflict is inevitable and unavoidable in any relationship - especially marriage. But conflict isn't always a bad thing. In fact, when handled with a respectful, non-abusive spirit, it can lead to a stronger, more satisfying marriage. Shahida (2015) states that conflict is part of organization of life.. Hence, conflict tends to occur through interactions as it (conflict) is innate in man’s life. It connotes a situation in which people perceive threat (physical, emotional, power, status to their well being.
Tolorunleke (2013) defines marital conflicts as the state of tension or stress between marital partners as the couple try to carry out their marital roles. The fact that two people agree or plan to live together as husband and wife calls for different expectations and hopes, some of which might be fulfilled while others remain unfulfilled. Since couples are humans and no gods, it is only natural to expect that there will be differences in opinions, values, needs, desires and habits that are the stuff of everyday living. Bearing in mind the fact that no human relationship is devoid of conflict and misunderstanding once in a while, many families with in our societies experience difficulties as a result of marital conflicts. This constitutes a major threat to sustainability of marital peace and stability in our societies both small and large.
According to Tim and Joy (2004), marital or spousal conflict is not just a difference of opinion.  Rather, it is a series of events that have been poorly handled so as to deeply damage the marriage relationship.  Marriage issues have festered to the point that stubbornness, pride, anger, hurt and bitterness prevent effective marriage communication. Tim and Joy (2004) further explain that the root of almost all serious marital discord is selfishness on the part of one or both parties.  Saving a marriage means rejecting selfishness, giving up pride, forgiving hurt and setting aside bitterness; these steps grow more difficult, so it’s best to avoid the downward spiral of marital conflict.
Fincham (2000) submits that marital or spousal conflicts can be about virtually anything. Couples complain about sources of conflict ranging from verbal and physical abusiveness to personal characteristics and behaviours. Perceived inequity in a couple's division of labour is associated with marital conflict and with a tendency for the male to withdraw in response to conflict. Conflict over power is also strongly related to marital dissatisfaction. Spouses' reports of conflict over extramarital sex, problematic drinking, or drug use predict divorce, as do wives' reports of husbands being jealous and spending money foolishly. Greater problem severity increases the likelihood of divorce. Even though it is often not reported to be a problem by couples, violence among newlyweds is a predictor of divorce, as is psychological aggression (verbal aggression and nonverbal aggressive behaviours that are not directed at the partner's body).
Finchman (2000) further submits that during conflict, distressed couples make more negative statements and fewer positive statements than non-distressed couples. They are also more likely to respond with negative behavior when their partner behaves negatively. Indeed, this negative reciprocity, as it is called, is more consistent across different types of situations than is the amount of negative behaviour, making it the most reliable overt signature of marital distress. Negative behaviour is both more frequent and more frequently reciprocated in couples that engage in physical aggression than in other couples. Nonverbal behaviour, often used as an index of emotion, reflects marital satisfaction better than verbal behaviour, and unlike verbal behaviour does not change when spouses try to fake good and bad marriages.
Tim and Joy (2004) explain that when husbands and wives are unable to navigate their disagreements, they fall into fairly predictable patterns of behaviour. Tim and Joy (2004) further explain that when marriage communication breaks down, feelings are hurt, emotions run high, and solutions seem out of reach.  When marital conflict and children live in the same home, the damage is multiplied.
Tim and Joy observe four stages of marital conflict that increase marital discord as:
1. Have It Your Way.
Couples who are newly married and haven’t learned how to successfully resolve their differences tend to try to settle things by avoiding confrontation. They give in to each other without ever discussing the heart of the problem. If you find yourself giving in whenever you have an argument with your husband, eventually you will find that you are tired of this pattern and will begin shifting your attitude toward the next stage.
2. Have It My Way.
After couples have exhausted themselves by ignoring their own needs, they often turn the opposite way and begin demanding that their needs are now met. A wife who has kept her opinions to herself may suddenly realize that this has contributed to her misery and may start voicing her thoughts and attitudes at every opportunity. But unfortunately, this stage doesn’t work either as husband and wife begin butting heads.
3. Have It Our Way.
The third phase involves compromising and negotiating with each other. At first, the couple may be enthusiastic at their newfound communication style, but eventually the eagerness fades. About this time in a marriage, couples are facing more time demands and stresses from their parenting responsibilities, financial concerns and hectic schedules. Between an ineffective conflict resolution style and the growing pressures of life, couples may start to doubt their compatibility during this stage.
4. Have It Any Way You Want.
This stage marks a sense of resignation. Couples in this stage are exhausted over the unending conflicts and might even feel hopeless that all the unresolved issues will ever be worked out.  If you find yourself in this stage, you need expert  marriage guidance.
2.5 Spousal Conflict Management
No relationship without its conflict. What matter is to be able to manage the conflict in a relationship. As a result, the conflict in a marriage does not suppose to result to the end of the marital relationship, hence it should be managed. Tim and Joy (2004) opine that marriages don’t have to end up because of conflict. With effective communication and conflict resolution skills, couples can work through their problems, rather than avoiding or forcing the issues. Once any of the negative stages in marriage is noticed, the spouse should start to learn better ways to communicate with each other. If the spouse is unsure of where to start, he or she should check out a few books at the library, read articles online or talk with successful couples he or she knows. If conflict continues to go unresolved, he or she should consider visiting a marriage therapist to help teach him or her effective strategies.
Tolorunke (2013) submits that for husband and wife to be able to manage their conflicts effectively, they must have a guardian and counsellor. The concept of guidance and counseling as helping relationships is complex and multi-dimensional, covering various aspects of human development and endeavor including marriage. Marriage counseling is a helping service. Tolorunke (2013) further sees it as a specialized help given to partners in marriage to enable them settle their differences and work together to achieve the objectives for which they entered the union. The role of marital counseling, in helping couples to overcome marital conflicts cannot be overemphasized. Counseling in our present day generation is useful to all persons and at every stage of life. A counseling psychologist who will therefore work with couples that are experiencing marital conflicts needs to develop certain intervention strategies which will help couples to understand themselves, the threat to their union and take decisions that will help them to resolve their differences. To do this effectively, modern marriage counseling psychologists need to be adequately grounded in the theories and practices guiding the profession. This is due to the fact that counseling as an interactive process is characterized by a unique relationship between the counselor and the client that is expected to lead to a change in the client’s behaviour. There are also different counseling theories at the disposal of the counselor to help couples in resolving their marital conflicts through preventive and remedial roles of counseling. When couples come to the reality that whatever they disclose to the counselor as regards their on-going marital conflicts will be kept in ultimate confidence, they will open up and the marriage counselor will be able to guide the couple in order to arrest any problematic situations.
According to Shahida (2015), marital conflicts are well managed by tolerant attitude. The major cause of marital conflicts is the denial of one’s right or inability to fulfil ones obligation. If conflicts spring up in a family due to this, the husband (most especially) should be able to tolerate the inconvenience that emanate from this and also, the wife should be able to learn a corrective and submissive attitude. However, if the conflict is about to get out of hand, both should invite the wise and experienced ones from their families to come and interfere in the matter.
2.6 Radio and Spousal Conflict Management
Radio is one of the fastest means of communicating the masses. It quickly informs and sends signals on happenstance that is happening. A spousal conflicts that is discussed on radio can be managed by audience who are experienced matured through the following suggested ways of Adaobi (2012);
Letter to the Presenter: This refers to the letters written and posted to or taken physically to the radio stations which broadcast them free of charge. Email letters can also be sent by the audience to contribute to the conflicts issue raised for discussion. In addendum, the letter can be written and be dropped to the website page of the presenter if the radio station has a website.
Sending in of SMS: The use of Short Messaging Services (SMS) via mobile phones is another form of letter which is faster than sending letter through email. However, the audience sending in SMS may not be able to express him or her opinion better. Meanwhile, in order to manage a conflict, those rendering advise must be logical and their points must be cleared.
Phone-in: This is one of the most effective means of allowing audience to participate in spousal conflict through the use of radio programme. Audience that are phoning in will be able to express their opinion, share their experience and tender better advice for the couple on the conflicts they are facing. However, if this is not well managed, it may leads to waste of time and if the presenter is not careful, those phoning in may utter words that will escalate the conflicts more.
Inviting an Experienced Personality: The presenter of the programme may invite an experienced personality to the programme to come and share his or her own experience with the couple either they may adopt the lessons learnt from the life history of such personality.

2.7 Theoretical Framework
Participatory communication theory is used in this study. Participatory communication is an approach capable of facilitating people's involvement in decision-making about issues impacting their lives - a process capable of addressing specific needs and priorities relevant to people and at the same time assisting in their empowerment. Ochichi (2013) states that the purpose of participatory communication is to make something common, or to share meanings, perceptions, worldviews or knowledge. In this context, sharing implies an equitable division of what is being shared, which is why communication should almost be naturally associated with a balanced, two-way flow of information.
In the world in general and in Nigeria to be specific, spousal conflicts are rampant. There is virtually no house where there are no conflicts between the spouses. Ugochukwu and Felicia (2014) state that it is unrealistic to expect a marriage to be problem-free. After all, even well -matched marriage, partners are not perfectly compatible hence difficulties of some sort are inevitable. Just as rust can corrode metal under a coat of paint, a number of factors can eat away at an apparently successful marriage. Crises in homes or families do not just go unnoticed because wherever a crisis exists in the family, the atmosphere of such a family is everything but congenial, the atmosphere changes - a once happy, family would become chaotic and characterized further by teenage rebellion, child abuse, spousal violence, alcoholism, extra-marital affairs, gambling, drug addiction and in extreme cases health problems such as hypertension, heart-attack /failure and emotional breakdown follow as consequences. Some affected couple becomes addicted to their work yet others develop varying degrees of mental disorder including psychotic and psychopathological health conditions.
On this, when there are marital conflicts and the two spouses are unable to manage it to the extent that it got to the point that experienced matured adults could not be able to settle it, nothing bad if the audience at home who are also believed to have their marital challenges also contribute to the programme by advising the couple in maintaining their matrimonial challenges. On this, the researcher prefers choosing audience participatory theory for this study as Kokoro Alate is a live radio programme addressing spousal conflicts and allows audience participation.