THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES TOWARDS WOMEN EMPOWERMENT. A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN OWERRI WEST L.G.A OF IMO STATE A CASE OF DURUKOFIA LOCAL GOVT. AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong></strong></p> 1.1 Background of the Study&nbsp;<p></p><p>The problem of youth development has received the attention of many experts and researchers, organizations such as United Nation Organization (UNO) International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), Non-Governmental Organization NGO, as well as the government. This is because as declared by the National Youth Policy (2010), they constitute an invaluable asset of the nation, because of courage, innovativeness, inquisitiveness and high level of self-confidence, which is also considered to be a main source of nation building they are not only a vital source of the state but also a change agent, the youths are pioneers of economic, social, political and cultural transformation and change driving force. Youth development as captured in National Youth Policy (2004-2014), is an intentional comprehensive approach that provides space opportunities and support for young people to maximize their individual and collective creative energies for personal development as well as development of the broader society of which are an integral part (NYP, 2014). Youth development traditionally is still most widely used to mean a natural process, the growing capacity of a young person to understand and act on the environment. In this usage, it is identical to child or adolescent development. Human development is the natural unfolding of the potential inherent in the human organism in relation to the challenges and support of the physical and social environment (Hamilton, 2004). The United Nation Organization (UNO) defines youth as those persons between the ages of 15-24 years, without prejudice to other definition by member states. They went on to declare that young people between the ages of 15-24 represent approximately 18% of the global population nearly 1.2 billion people. They also declare that eighty seven percent (87%) of youth live in developing countries, sixty two (62%) of youth live in Asia, and seventeen percent (17%) of youth live in Africa. As members of societies, youth deserve full access to education, adequate health care employment, financial service, participation in public lives. incompetence and lackadaisical approach to life have formed the corpus of the conception or misconception of youth as been incapable. By default, youth no matter However, the Nigeria youth policy defines the youth as all young persons of the age (18-35) years. The youth are the backbone of the development of the country. The pertinent question now is whether in it typical manifestation, Nigeria youth have completely measured up to the standard so magnificently set by the policy or whether as a one-time head of state commented “they are incapable of handling leadership”, Youth restiveness, the age range, they are delimited to have a flair for quick money and fast life (Adebayo, 2013). Research has shown that productivity and creativity level of youth population is very high when compared to the elderly aged grade.</p><p> 1.2 Statement of the Problem</p><p>&nbsp;Perhaps, the major problem confronting the youth today is unemployment which leads to high rate of poverty. World Bank (2013) confirms 112million Nigerians living below poverty line. This followed another depressing disclosure by the World Bank, which said that the population of Nigerians in poverty has increased considerably and significantly. The figure represents about sixty seven percent (67%) of the entire population. In spite of all the orchestrated policies and programmes of successive government in Nigeria as well as several works and researches conducted by various authors and organization, the Nigeria youth still leave a lot to be desired. Such programs which range from in school education programme for physical and mental development of out of school programmes aimed at shaping the character and behavior of the youth, as well as promoting competitive spirit and national unity and integration. The in-school programmes which include the formation of clubs, encouragement of sporting activities and other outdoor activities, with discipline instilling organization such as boy scouts girls guide and man-o-war as well as various theories and practices design to stimulate and bring about development of youth in various areas such as attitude empowerment, skills acquisition, decision making, employment opportunity, e.t.c. Other challenges as indicated by world youth report 2005, that 200million youth lives on less than US$1 per day 130million are illiterate, 10million live with HIV and 88million young people are unemployed. A lot more need to be done to empower the youth, re-energize them and get them seriously involved with the task of nation building and socioeconomic development.&nbsp;</p><p> 1.3. Objectives of the Study&nbsp;</p><p>The broad objective of the study is to examine the effect of co-operative societies in the development of the youth in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra state Nigeria&nbsp;</p><p>The specific objectives are to: &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p> i. Ascertain the corporate profile of cooperative societies in dunukofia local government area ii. Identify the activities the cooperative societies are engaged and its bearing to youth development iii. Compare the exposure of the youth to development activities before and after joining the cooperative societies iv. Find out the perception of the youth and the influence of their cooperative on their development. v. Ascertain the challenges of the cooperative societies and their youth-members face in advancing their development &nbsp; <br>&nbsp; </p><p></p><p><br></p><p></p>