CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Co-operative as a business model, are not a new concept in Nigeria. Co-operative act as agent towards sustainable community development. Cooperative act as an important role in community development in the rural, northern and remote communities, they provide a means of addressing many social and economic concerns as youth retention, community identify/spirit and preventing leakage f local money.
A Co-operative is defined by international Co-operative Alliance statement on the Co-operative identity as an autonomous association of person united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owed and democratically controlled enterprise.
It may also be defined as a business owned and controlled equally by the people who use its services or who work at its Co-operative economics.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Co-operative society is a society formed by a group of persons who have voluntarily agreed to come and pull their resources together to finance and control for their economic benefit (Ozuitem and Mbanasor 2009).
In light from the foregoing, co-operative organization are business organizations that invest much concern on its member’s economic well being through contributory efforts with the aim of achieving a set goal. (Mbansor 2005).
Co-operative Society contributed to the society’s economic development in so many ways. It is also center where Government operates its activities in alleviating the poverty of member by giving to them loans and also providing equipment to work. Co-operative Societies has rules and regulations that governs it activities like any other business to irrespective of their kind of Co-operatives Societies formed. It is democratic in nature where member have the right contest for any post in the society and may wish to employ an external body to conduct election for them.
In the past, Co-operative Society was in form of community (attributed to Robert Owen) where people contribute what they have for their social well being as a result of the industrial revolution which was one of the ills of the era that brought terrible suffering to the masses. As times proceeds, adjustment and readjustments was made as regarded to its administration and now grown into a full statutory body. Different co-operative societies have come up are employing progress based on strict principle of the organization. (Ozuitem 2008).