By Akukwe, Francis Nnalue
I feel singularly honoured and very happy to be called to
introduce this beautiful book: TOWARDS A NEW !SOClEIY:
INTRODUCI'ION TO SOCIAL DEVEIXIWEW, by Fr.
Francis Nnalue Akukwe.
A master both in the theory and practice of social development,
the author, Fr. Akukwe studied ~heolo~~s~yc,h olog~
and Social Development in Nigeria and the United States of
America, and for the past thirteen years has been the Director
of Social Services in the Archdiocese of Onitsha and the Rector
of the flourishing Catholic Social Centre Onitsha. Dr. Akukwe,
in this publication manifests tremendous famhity with and
palpable mastery of the essentials of social development in
general, their analysis and application to the Nigerian situation
in particular.
As a pioneer work on Social development, this book is a
great insight into the nature of Nigeria's social development
problems, the contributions made by Church and State, private
persons and voluntary agencies in the field of social work and
how to augment these efforts and contributions in quality and
quantity. In this well-researched work, the author, Dr. Akukwe,
has ably supplied answers to questions that bothered and still
bother social development workers, and in a concise and clear
manner indicated to the government and nongovernment
organisations, how to draw up plans and programmes for social
development and social services. Like every good book for
beginners, it gives neophytes in this field a clear concept of
social development and how to set about socia works for the
liberation of the oppressed people in our communities. The
author specified that for the social development agent, to be
genuine and effective he must learn to work for and with the
poor. He must be ready to learr. from them. otherwise he would
be scratching them where they do not itch. As Pope Paul observed development should focus on the whole man; the rich
and the poor, and on man and woman. It must lay more
emphasis on being rather than on having, on persons rather than
on things.