CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION \
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Just as the whole world stepped into the 21st century and Nigeria dragging her ship without recourse to her teeming poverty strickening populace of over one hundred & forty million (140,000,000) citizen.(2004 National population census). Yet since over three decades now, after independence from the British coupled with military “Zoombie” incursion into politics, the Nigerian economy has been in a dire stress or doldrums. Consequent upon this, many business ventures have submerged or rather closed shops. Many of those that are still afloat had not made any reasonable impact but are experiencing economic degeneration due to multiplicity of factors, among which is lack of proper Technical feasibility studies/report before embarking in the venture. Prior to this, however, there was such a boom that basically business ventures yielded a satisfactory quantum of demands, such that numerous business and banks were set up without proper planning/research either (short term or long term). Then when structural adjustment program (SAP) was introduced during the time of Nigerian Head of state General Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) during which most business went out of existence. The continued economic crunch has highlighted the need for technical feasibility studies/report before embarking on any project.
According to the Holy Bible (KJV) (Luke 14 vs 28 –31) for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see him begin to mock him saying “the man begin to build, and was not able to finish” or what king is going to encounter another king in war, will not sit clown first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to mock him… against him with twenty thousand? Again there is this management adage, which says, “Failing to Plan is Planning to fail” the era of rule in business operations is fast becoming ancient history.
In the same vein, the tremendous progress in information communication technology (ICT) and application has made it imperative that one must take stock before embarking on any venture otherwise more prepared contemporaries competitors and rugged business terrain will submerged the venture though their competitive edge and vicissitude in the economy. The need for sound and proper planning is accentuated even more by the nature of the Nigerian economy, which has continued running headless by into the woods. Okpara Avenue that used to thrive to business activities has become the shadow of the past. Most of these business outfits there have now been converted to churches at an alarming rate. At Emene industrial Estate the story is not very different as it is now, a ghost of its past. It has also become a known fact that else where the rate of business failure is equally appalling. A visit to Agbani road to Gariki road, Achara layout or timber shade at Maryland will also confirm this. This kept one in a ponder state or wonder, whether, proper feasibility studies, its impact are well carried out before these business ventures were embarked upon. It is against this background that the researcher wants to embark on this research topic titled “An Evaluation of the impact of Technical feasibility study As a Tool for successful BusinessOperation –A case of selected companies in Enugu urban, Enugu State, Nigeria.