CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The thrift and Credit
cooperative has been formed with intention of improving the standard of living.
The thrift and credit society started in Germany under the leadership of
Fredrick Ra’ffeisen in the year 1818 who is now regarded as the father of
modern cooperative thrift and credit society.
Germany has always been referred to as the cradle of credit
cooperative. At that time, the economic condition of Germany was so deplorable
and the peasantry and artisans fiet crushed under the heavy weight of
indebtedness. Famine was a common phenomenon used as order of the day. The Jews
ruled over the market and the poor labourers and farmers had no way out, except
to buy articles of their need from them and sales their product to them. The
merchants were money lenders changing very high rate of interest for the credit
they gave and offered ridiculously prices for the produce they purchased. With
the hopeless life of the peasantry, Raiffeisen emerged to help them out of
their indebtedness and poverty years, therefore thought out plan for
cooperative societies.
Before the advert of
modern cooperative society the thrift and credit society serve at urban area,
the traditional mutual system is been called and addressed by different name by
various communities who practice it inform of traditional form of saving.
The Hausa call it
“Adashe” “Bashi” in Nupe “Asusu in Ogogo etoto in Ibibio etc.” The traditional
systems of cooperative leaders of the society are elected purely on the
agreement of the members, while in modern cooperative.
Cooperative at large,
the management committees are elected democratically, and any person contesting
for any post must have the question of some vital requirement such as payment
of entrance fees, share deposit etc and the member must be voted for any post
in the society.
Cooperative thrift and
credit society are mainly found among the urban areas, low-income earners,
government employees etc. and a good number splitter around is the urban area
as well.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Thrift and credit
cooperative society like other sphere of life has it own problems. It is
generally believed that any organization irrespective of its size has problems,
if not identified and corrective measures applied is bound to hit the rock,.
Cooperative thrift and credit is not left out this philosophy identifying and
laying these problems is the primary aim of the write up of this project.
The project is aim at
highlighting the obstacle responsible for the show growth of organization, it
is also an attempt to highlight the aim and objectives of the organization, it
is living up to expectation?
The problems are being
highlighted analyzed and possible steps to be taken to alleviate the problems.
1.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
OF THE AREA
Modern cooperative
thrift and credit has been in existence in early 20’s 2004 to be precisely in
orphanage mother multi purpose society. Before then, it was traditionally
practiced, low-income earner, petty traders peasant farmers etc. contribute
money weekly or monthly, they rotates one after the other which serves as urban
development area for its members, and then people have difficulties to secure
loan for its members from any financial institution due to the fact that mostly
are low income earners, urban areas etc where they have no collateral for
security while they normally requested before giving people loan.
But with the
establishment of orphanage mother multipurpose in that area, which was
established to help people of limited means, which find it difficult to save
and secure loan to better their socio economic, encourage, saving and also
provide other services to the communities at reasonable rate of interest
through application of self help and mutual help which is one of the guiding
idea of cooperative.
But most of the people
stated with drawing their membership, because they assumed that they only want
to dupe and run away with the little money learned due to the fact that the
time of establishment there was no emphasis on expansion and diversification of
cooperatives thrift and credit in their development plan and there was nobody
to educated and enlighten the people about, their aim and objective. So people
where complaining that they cannot meet up their needs as a result of non
provision of loan for as a whole, lack of proper book keeping and auditing
which is due to unskilled personnel, lack of adequate capital and lastly there
is also dishonesty and competition among committee members and government which
lead to the collapsed of the thrift and credit society.
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE STUDY
Cooperative thrift and
credit ensure rapid socio – economic development of urban areas and the
community at large
But due to the fact
that there wasn’t any serious emphasis on expansion and diversification of
cooperative movement in their development plan. Therefore it resulted to low
participation of people in cooperative society.
Secondly, it also
seems there wasn’t serious encouragement from government to ensure that the
people were enlighten and educated in other to joint the cooperative society.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION
To carry out this
research the following question are put forward to guide the study:
1) What are the impacts
of cooperative thrift and credit has toward the transformation and development
of urban area.
2) How can the cooperative
thrift and credit be restructured so as to give the societies at large, maximum
benefit?
3) What are the problems
facing cooperatives thrift and credit societies in the urban areas.
1.5 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The following are the
objective of the study.
1) To find out the
impact, cooperative thrift and credit has towards, transformation and
development of urban area:
2) In order to know and
identify the problem associated with cooperative thrift and credit societies.
3) To suggest ways and
means through which cooperative thrift and credit movement can be restructure,
so as to give maximum benefit to its members.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
This
study is significant in the sense through this study the orphanage will be able
to know the way to improve their community they
will also know the importance of becoming a member of cooperative
society, it will enhance a better well being of them and their family.
To the policy makers, this study will encourage members to save;
objective of the cooperatives should be thrift, saving definitively increases
the poll for further lending, loans must be given for.
To management the nature as credit management makes this types of
cooperatives one of the most cumbersome. Every credit cooperative must have at
least the following offices and positions to make for an effective credit
control.
1.7 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION
OF TERMINOLOGIES
Cooperatives: Can be defined as the autonomous association of person
united voluntary to meet their economic social and cultural needs and
aspiration through jointly owned democratically controlled enterprises.
Cooperative thrift and Credit: Are specialist cooperative that provide
loan to its members and other credit facilities with low interest rate and also
encourage saving among members.
Members: Are owners of registered society who has the right and
privileged as registered members of cooperative thrift and credit
Fredrick Raiffeisen: The name of a German who came out with the idea of
modern cooperation thrift and credit society in Germany in 19th
century, he is regarded as the father of modern cooperative thrift and credit
society.
Modern Cooperative: This means the present cooperative movement which
is formatly recognized in a more clearly ways and have the legal backing up the
cooperative law, and the individual society by law which makes it look more
admirable than the traditional cooperative.
Adashe, Dashi, Asusu and Etoto: The local term used in referring to
cooperative thrift and credit among the Hausa’s Nupe, Igbo’s, and Yoruba.
Management: Committee are democratically elected officials of a
registered cooperative society and they are responsible for running day to day
activities of the society. So in most cases success and failure of the society
is hinged on them.
Share: Amount of the money to be contributed by all members of a
cooperatives society for the sake of the society business activities in some
instance. The society sales each share at the sum of one Naira and every
members is expected to buy not more than 25 share in the society.
Deposit: Is the total amount of saving collected from the members of
the society and sometime from non-member of the society, which is to be
deposited in the banks.
Government Cooperative Staff: They are government agents who link the
government and the cooperative society in the urban area. These staffs are
empowered to inspect the society books of account and give the society members
a sound cooperative education.