Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Rural Women in Borno State, Nigeria — Adam Gambo Saleh and Fatima Ibrahim Lasisi

Abstract

Women constitute the greater percentage of the rural population in Nigeria and form an important part of the labor force by engaging in subsistence trade. However, this role is grossly hindered as a result of lack of information on how to tackle their problems, which cut across health care, illiteracy, early marriages, poverty and ignorance. This study is an investigation of the information needs and information–seeking behavior of rural women in Nigeria with particular reference to Borno State. Questionnaires and oral interviews were the main instruments used for data collection. The analysis revealed varying information needs, sources, channels and seeking behavior. Barriers to information needs are identified and suggestion on how to tackle them are provided.

Introduction

The 2006 National Census puts Nigeria’s population close to 150 million. Fifty two percent are women and about 45 percent of them live in rural areas, the highest percentage of which are in the northern part of the country [1]. As a Third World nation, the features that characterize the rural population in Nigeria include illiteracy, poverty, hunger, disease, and general absence of basic infrastructure such as roads, schools, electricity, etc. These coupled with peculiar problems of rural women such as early marriages, lack of income, withdrawal of girls from school, Vascular Vaginal Fistula (VVF), and pregnancy related deaths, have created apathy and indolence towards any form of developmental efforts. A recent UNESCO report revealed that the level of poverty in the country is increasing at an alarming rate and the situation is worst in the northern part, particularly the northeast where Borno is situated [2].

Despite this myriad of problems, the rural woman is very resourceful and contributes to the sustainability of the family and the society. Specifically, the rural woman engages in domestic chores such as cooking, fetching water and firewood, and raising children; and is involved in petty trades such as weaving, sawing, farming, animal husbandry, etc. This is an indication that the rural woman has potentials which if properly harnessed can provide the impetus needed for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and the plans of the government of Nigeria to become among the twenty great economies of the world in the year 2020. Momodu [3] observed that

The rural dwellers in Nigeria are not inherently poor nor are they doomed to ignorance and disease, rather they are blessed with massive fertile land and mineral resources and also huge and virile labor force which can be transformed into goods and services.

She further lamented that

the missing link … has been the absence of an effective mechanism for mobilization and stimulating them into action with a view to addressing their problems. That missing link is the lack of information in the right quantity and format [4].

Studies in information behavior in Africa are generally fewer compared to the developed world despite the high level of interest generated by the field in the last decade. In Nigeria the available studies, with the exception of Aboyade [5], Momodu [6], and Njoku [7], concentrated on professional groups mostly within institutions and in urban settlements. In a recent review of studies on the information needs and seeking behavior of indigenous people of several developing countries, Dutta [8] reported that

tthere is relatively small number of studies done on the information behavior of the citizens of developing countries and the few concentrated on the educated individuals and the urban population located in the large cities than on citizens who live in the rural areas.

This study is therefore not only an attempt to bridge this gap but to also answer such questions as

Objectives of the study

The objectives which the study aimed to achieve are as follows:

  1. To identify the information needs of rural women

  2. To identify their sources of information

  3. To examine their information–seeking behavior

Methodology

The survey method was used. Questionnaires were the main instrument used for data collection while oral interviews were used to clarify some aspects of the questionnaire. The population of the study is made up of all the twenty–seven local government areas of Borno State. However, the sampled population is drawn from eight local government areas (Abadam, Gubio, Kaga, Kukawa, Magumeri, Marte, Monguno, and Nganzai) making up the Northern Senatorial Zone. The choice of this zone is hinged on the fact that of the three Senatorial Zones, it is the most neglected and backward in terms of education, health care, roads, potable water, and other basic infrastructure. The population is also homogeneous with close cultural and historic ties. This made it easy to develop a reliable questionnaire which resulted in 71 percent response rate.

Limitations of the study

Limitations encountered included inability of the respondents to fill in the questionnaire without assistance either from literate relations or interpreters which might lead to subjective responses; difficulty in tracking down the respondents who are busy most of the time either at home, farm, or doing other household chores; general apathy towards the study itself; and resources available to the researcher. These limitations were however contained to the barest minimum in order not to affect the outcome of the study, as attested to by the high response rate recorded.

Data presentation

The method of analysis which is adapted from Momodu [9] is purely descriptive and devoid of tables or graphs for easy assimilation.

Information needs

Although the population of Northern Borno is homogeneous, the information needs of the women vary. It ranges from information for farming to sawing, weaving, midwifery, animal husbandry, etc. The needs are categorized into the following:

Agricultural information needs

It is not surprising that agricultural information needs scores the highest percentage, bearing in mind the large span of fertile land in the area and of course all people are farmers though living at a subsistence level. The information required in this area includes where to get farm inputs and implements such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, improved varieties of seedlings, and tractors, either free or at a highly subsidized rate; and how to apply them. Other needed information pertains to animal husbandry such as breeds, feeds, animal diseases, period of fattening, available market, etc.

Health information needs

The most paramount health information required is pre–natal and post–natal care; immunizations, especially on the six childhood killer diseases; how to prevent and manage vascular vaginal fistula (VVF); and how to safely deliver pregnancies. Rural women also need information on how to prevent and control epidemics, especially cholera and meningitis, which are rampant in the area.

Perhaps the health information required by rural women generally is hinged on hygiene, good food, family planning and clean environment. These are in fact necessary for the well–being of the community and the society at large.

Educational information needs

Educational information needs came third with 12%. This again is not a surprise because it has been stated earlier that this area is the most neglected and backward compared to others in the state. The information required in this area is first of all awareness of the importance of education, and most especially the education of girls to the development of the individual and the society in general.

The few who send their children to school need information regarding the school calendar; when examinations organized by national bodies such as Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO), West African Examinations Council (WAEC), and National Board for Technical Examinations (NABTEP), are conducted; and what is expected of parents. They are also interested in information regarding government incentives such as scholarships and prospects of employment after graduation.

Economic information needs

Because the women are engaged in petty trades such as sawing, weaving, soap making, animal husbandry, etc. to supplement their families’ incomes, they are interested in knowing where to get cheap raw materials for their trade, as well as access to interest–free loans and a market for their finished products at reasonable price. Others include how to improve their cognitive skill in order to enhance their earnings.

Political information needs

At the moment the women in Northern Borno are not politically conscious. They are not aware of their responsibilities to government neither are they aware of their rights as citizens. The presence of government is only felt at the time of electioneering campaigns where promises are made and not fulfilled. They need to know what governance is, their rights as citizens, their powers as the electorate and how to use these powers wisely.

The women also require information on the political parties and their manifestos to be able to participate and take decision to cast their votes independently, against the present situation where they align simply to where their husbands or relations are.

Information sources and channels

There are basically five sources through which the rural women satisfy their information needs. These are:

It can be seen from the above that with the exception of the government and its agents, all the other sources are informal. This is an indication that either formal sources are lacking or the rural women prefer informal sources. The channels of information available to them are both formal and informal. The formal channels include radio and television, local government information offices, agricultural extension workers, primary health care workers, and the only public library in the zone situated in Monguno. The informal channels on the other hand constitute village or ward heads, the school headmaster, the imams (religious leaders) and other elite groups in the community. Friends and relatives, market women, as well as NGOs, particularly The Kanem Women, have been cited as important informal channels of information.

Information–seeking behavior

It is very clear from the sources and channels of information used by rural women that their information–seeking behavior is mainly informal. They rely more on information gotten from friends, relatives, husbands, sons and daughters, and market women. According to Momodu [10] this is because “those sources to them are more reliable and authentic.” It can also be seen to be in conformation to Zipf’s [11] ‘Principle of Least Effort’ in human behavior.

The rural woman hardly seeks information in a formal way through formal sources or channels. Watching television or listening to radio where available is seen as a luxury only men can afford.

Barriers to information

The barriers to accessing information by rural women are identified as follows:

Conclusion

Women constitute the highest percentage of rural dwellers in Nigeria, variously distributed, with the northern part of the country accounting for the majority. They are a hard–working and resourceful group which if properly harnessed can provide the impetus required by the government to achieve its Integrated Rural Development Program. To achieve this, however, there is a need to develop information consciousness among rural women by the provision of efficient, effective and reliable formal information delivery mechanisms.

Notes

1. Nigeria. National Population Commission. National Census Result 2006. (Abuja: National Population Commission, 2007).

2. UNESCO. Report on Poverty Level in Africa. (New York: UNESCO, 2009).

3. Momodu, Margaret O. “Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour of Rural Dwellers in Nigeria: A Case Study of Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.” Library Review 51, no. 8 (2002): 406.

4. Ibid.

5. Aboyade, B. O. “Communications Potentials of the Library for Non–Literates: an Experiment in Providing Information Services in a Rural Setting.” Libri 34, no. 3 (1984): 243–262.

6. Momodu, “Information Needs.”

7. Njoku, I. F. “The Information Needs and Information–seeking Behaviour of Fishermen in Lagos State, Nigeria.” International Information and Library Review 36, no. 4 (2004): 297–302.

8. Dutta, Renee. “Information Needs and Information–seeking Behavior in Developing Countries: a Review of the Research.” International Information and Library Review 41 no.1 (2009): 44–51.

9. Momodu, “Information Needs.”

10. Ibid., p. 407.

11. Zipf, George K. Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: an Introduction to Human Ecology. (Cambridge, Mass.: Addison–Wesley, 1949).

Bibliography

Aboyade, B. O. “Communications Potentials of the Library for Non–Literates: an Experiment in Providing Information Services in a Rural Setting.” Libri 34, no. 3 (1984): 243–262.

Dutta, Renee. “Information Needs and Information–seeking Behavior in Developing Countries: a Review of the Research.” International Information and Library Review 41 no.1 (2009): 44–51.

Momodu, Margaret O. “Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour of Rural Dwellers in Nigeria: A Case Study of Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.” Library Review 51, no. 8 (2002): 406–410.

Nigeria. National Population Commission. National Census Result 2006. (Abuja: National Population Commission, 2007).

Njoku, I. F. “The Information Needs and Information–seeking Behaviour of Fishermen in Lagos State, Nigeria.” International Information and Library Review 36, no. 4 (2004): 297–302.

UNESCO. Report on Poverty Level in Africa. (New York: UNESCO, 2009).

Zipf, George K. Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort: an Introduction to Human Ecology. (Cambridge, Mass.: Addison–Wesley, 1949).

About the authors

Adam Gambo Saleh, Department of Library Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
E–mail: adamgambo48 [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk

Fatima Ibrahim Lasisi, Department of Library Science, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.