Full Project – Cooperative society – a strong key to employment generation in Nigeria

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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Today, in an era when many people feel powerless to change their lives, cooperatives represent a strong, vibrant, and viable economic alternative. Cooperatives are formed to meet peoples’ mutual needs. They are based on the powerful idea that together, a group of people can achieve goals that none of them could achieve alone.

For over 160 years now, cooperatives have been an effective way for people to exert control over their economic livelihoods. They provide a unique tool for achieving one or more economic goals in an increasingly competitive global economy. As governments around the world cut services and withdraw from regulating markets, cooperatives are being considered useful mechanisms to manage risk for members in agricultural or other similar cooperatives, help salary/wage earners save for the future through a soft-felt monthly contribution that is deducted from source, own what might be difficult for individuals to own by their efforts, strengthen the communities in which they operate through job provision and payment of local taxes. Cooperatives generally provide an economic boost to the community as well.

Incidentally, cooperative despite its old age is not very popular in Nigeria. Only recently worker cooperative started gaining ground among working class citizens, most of who find it difficult to save part of their salaries/wages for the rainy day. Hitherto, cooperative societies were thought to be associations meant only for farmers, small traders and other very low-income earners. This explains why quite a number of cooperative farmers are found, particularly in Southern Nigeria. This paper has been published in the official journal of the department of public administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Nigeria. Ahmad Bello Dogarawa, Department of Accounting, Ahamadu Bello University, Zaria 1, the role of cooperative societies in Economic Development.

The problem is that many people do not know much about cooperatives, its mechanisms and role in economic development, and how it is considered in the world as a third force, an alternative and countervailing power to both big business and big government. Against this background, this paper examines the role of cooperative societies in economic development with a view to throwing some light on the nature and features of cooperatives, the benefits and the formation and management of cooperative societies. The paper investigates the ways in which cooperatives can act as agents towards sustainable community development. The justification of the study precipitates from the fact that although investigating the role of cooperatives on the international scale is not a new phenomenon, in Nigeria, results of such researches are still scanty and incomprehensive.

The paper is a descriptive survey, which involves the collection of data for the purpose of describing the role of cooperative societies in economic development. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section two gives a background on role and mechanism of cooperative societies. Section four highlights the steps involving in starting a cooperative. Section five discusses the challenges facing cooperatives and section six summarizes and concludes the paper.

1.2 Background on Cooperatives

The international cooperative alliance (ICA) in its statement on the cooperate identity, in 1995, defines a cooperative as “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise”. It is a business voluntarily owned and controlled by its member patrons and operated for them and by them on a nonprofit or cost basis (UWCC, 2002). It is a business enterprise that aims at complete identity of the component factors of ownership, control and use of service, three distinct features that differentiate cooperatives from other businesses (Laidlaw, 1974).

Although there is no consistency to the exact origin of the co-operative movement, many academics argue the origins lie within Europe (Shaffer, 1999; Holyoake, 1908). The first recorded co-operatives date back to 1750 in France, where local cheese makers in the community of Franche-Comte’ established a producer cheese cooperative. Kingdom the decade, co-operatives had developed in France, United Kingdom, United States and Greece. In 1844 the Equitable Pioneers of Rochdale Society (EPRS) was formed. With the goal of social improvement, twenty-eight and attempt cooperation for the good of the group. Even though-co-operatives appeared in the century previous, Rochdale is seen as the first ‘modern’ cooperative since it was where the co-operative principles were developed (Wikipedia, 2006; Gibson, 2005; and Abell, 2004).

The successful example of cooperative business provided by the Rochdale society, which also established between 1850 and 1855 a flourmill, a shoe factory, and a textile plant, was quickly emulated throughout the country. By 1863 more than 400 British cooperative associations, modeled after the Rochdale society, were in operation. Thereafter the English movement grew steadily, becoming the model for similar movement worldwide. Notable among the Europe countries in which consumer cooperation received early popular support were France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden (Abell, 2004).

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Realizing the employment generation potential of cooperative business there are no two ways other than creating serious awareness among the people emphasizing more on cooperative as best alternative to our much talked about employment problem. Economists believe that more than half of our problems are over when we have all employment. The study “cooperative societies a strong key to employment generation”.

Identify of cooperative business has enough employment potentials for the growing population of the nation from the Owerri North Local Government.
Identify the core problem that hinder people from establishing and operating cooperative business.
Find out causes of these inhibiting factors.
Find out remedial actions taken to solve, reduce the problem above.
Identify possible suggestions as how to solve the problem of cooperative business in Owerri North Local Government.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

(1) What do you think cooperative society is like?

(2) Does cooperative business have enough employment potentials for the ever growing Nigeria people’s population from the view of Owerri North Local Government?

(3) What factors constraint the growth of cooperative business?

(4) What role does government policy play to encourage cooperative business in employment generation in Owerri North Local Government?

(5) Do investors of cooperative societies look forward in finding a lasting solution to current employment?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Cooperative business is the roots to the ownership of capital and likewise participation towards the economic and industrial growth of the nation. This research is particularly of importance to the growth of people as it provides.

Opportunity to persons who may need to appreciate what constitutes cooperative business in generating employment and expected problems to be encountered the profitability persons venturing in cooperative business. There is particularly significant to the Nigeria government as it efforts the government and opportunity to appreciate the problems facing the establishment of efficiency by compassing how much is produced with the resource used.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study are of converge in Owerri North Local Government but due to factors which include the large scope etc, which leads to some difficulties the phrase cooperative and employment generation already brings to attention that are study ways to employment generation but the study is restricted to cooperatives in Owerri North Local Government.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The limitation experienced in this research work includes inadequate supply of information to facilitate easy and adequate time report inadequate finance and time constraint. Non-return of questionnaires distributed to respondents on time bias from respondent during face to face questionnaire method.

The above listed factors greatly tampered the research work in no small measure. But above all the constraint, the research work was carried out successfully.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

EMPLOYMENT: According to Oxford Advanced Learned Dictionary defined employment as work, especially when it is done to earn money, the state of being employed, to be in period employment. Employment can also be said to be the process of being employed and the working in the condition of payment.

EMPLOYMENT GENERATION: This is the process of trying/establishing industry for employment in employment generation, as far as the establishment of industry has occur then will be a generation for employment.

COOPERATIVE: This is an autonomous and independent association of individuals of the same ideology and philosophy that whiningly coverage on the basis of equity and equality their resources together and established profit-yielding venture through which they improve the financial, economic, cultural and social needs of its members.

UNEMPLOYMENT: This occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy.

MANAGEMENT: The process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the effort of organizational members by using all other organizational goals.

PRODUCTIVITY: This is the measurement efficiency comparing how much is produced with the research used.

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