Development as a concept has been viewed differently by scholars and practitioners. In order words finding a general consensus of definitions of development may not be easy. This difficulty may be due to the fact that many believe it is a process phenomenon. Oxford dictionary defined it as the process in which someone or something grows or changes and become more advance. Development therefore is the act of advancement, growth, change or evolution from one stage to another marked by progress.
According to Salau (2004), the psychologist as a social scientist says development focus on individual or personality variables such as self-reliance, achievement and motivation to achieve result in order to better the status quo. He adds that the fields of sociology and social anthropology see development as the process of differentiation that makes up the modern society by ensuring its continuity especially through socialization which is usually achieved through agents such as school, family, religious, institutions and peer group among others.
Marcado cited in Adamolekun (2005:40) defines developments as a process of providing disadvantaged people the opportunities to realize and improve their knowledge attitude, and skill to utilize, sustain and improve the quality of their life and the society where they belong.
Rodney (1972) argues that development is multifaceted procedure which entails every part of the society. This posits that development involves process and advancement which make the end better than the beginning. It is a change that leads to social improvement.
Asema (2010) as cited in Alex Attah’s work agree with Rodney position. He maintains that:
Individual needs to have increased knowledge and capacity aspirations as well as greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well beings, the unfolding and realization of the creative potential enabling him to improve his material conditions of living through the use of resources available to him. (Asema, 2010 p.5)
Development therefore is a noticeable growth from one stage to another, one that is higher, desirable, or more advanced than the previous state.
Aristole the great thinker shows the close relation between development and form. The fundamental conception of his philosophy is embodied form that lives and develops. The Greek philosopher perceived a ladder of life where simple organisms gradually change to. The development process of organism is that to have life Meant to have a psyche, and all living things to have souls. Therefore these developmental process leads to the final form of an organism in which the individual develops a soul.
Ibietan (2023) refer to development as a concept which is characterized as complex in nature. It has many components such as economic, political and social cultural. In economics, development is the case when the indices such as poverty, inequality, unemployment and external dependence in a country significantly reduced (Dudkey cited in Uma 1986). This is because one or two of these indices has/have been growing worse, especially if all four have, it will be strange to call the results development.
Political development is another element that determines development. A good political environment determines the capability of a political system to meet certain basic needs such country must stand on his own or be independence within the international system. There must be existence of rule of law where everybody is been treated equally irrespective of the political affiliation.
Socio-cultural development is in conjunction with culture development. Socio-cultural development is the availability of social amenities or access facilities for a common man. These facilities are law and order, public safety, education, health, recreation, rehabilitation of the disabled, water, electricity, transport and communication. The availability and access of facilities listed above to ordinary citizen implies that his well-being is enhanced materially and physically.
It is for these different perspectives that made Ademosu (2020) to submit that no one definition fits all about development, and according to her, development refers to a transformation or a positive change in people’s socio-cultural and economic way of life.
Conclusively, from the available literature, if we accept the concept of process, we view events as dynamic, ongoing, ever-changing and continuous. Development therefore is a process of changes that involves a series of activities and events that unfold over time, leading to growth, transformation and improvement.
Jane Attah (Mrs.)
Chief Planning Officer
Museum Of Colonial History
Lokoja
