Formation of Development Associations

People become members of associations in rural areas and over the years, these associations have become instruments for community developments. Association, like a social group, is the coming together of people to forge towards a common goal. Membership is voluntary, and the individual member is also free to opt out at will. Members are usually people of similar interests and aspirations.

Types of Associations in Rural Areas

Most of the associations in rural areas of Nigeria can be classified as expressive association because they are formed to satisfy the individual interests of members (Jibowo, 2000). Some associations existing in the rural area include:

1. The Thrift Society

2. The Mutual Aid Societies

3. Age Grade Associations

4. Gender Associations

5. Religious Associations

6. Secret Societies or Cults

7. Professional Associations

1. The Thrift Society. It is a contributory association aimed at pooling resources together for individual economic development.

2. The Mutual Aid Societies: This is the coming together of people to cooperatively provide labour for members. Members enjoy the combined labour force for their farming activities. It is known as “Egbe Aaro” or “Egbe owe” in the south west of Nigeria.

3. Age Grade Associations: These are associations formed by people of relatively the same age bracket. This association can be of tremendous benefit to community development, particularly in the area of project execution.

4. Gender Associations: These refer to the associations that are gender-biased. Examples are young men’s club and young ladies’ club.

5. Religious Associations: These are associations that are formed to satisfy some religious obligations.

6. Secret Societies or Cults: These associations are formed, but, as the name implies, their activities are not open but in the secret and so it becomes very difficult to be able to identify those who are members. An example is Ogboni Confraternity also known as “Egbe Awo”.

7. Professional Associations: These are formed with professional bias. Such association is intended for people in the same profession, such as, Hunters Association, Bricklayer Association and the like.