CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Co – operation means coming together of two or more persons under mutual arrangement to solve a particular problem as related to their interest, be it economical, cultural or political.        However, cooperative derive its concept from cooperative thereby making wave for the creation of co operative societies in 1844. A cooperative societies is a voluntary association of person united together, under mutual understanding to prefect their economical, cultural and political interest and aspiration through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

           A cooperative society according to Amahalu (2004:22) is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspiration through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

          A co – operative fundamentally is managed and controlled by co operative principles as prescribed by the international co operative alliance (ICA).

          The origin of the present co operative principles of the ICA is from the famous cooperative principle of the equitable pioneers, cooperative in 1921 when the federal cooperative development stated unofficially in 1921 when the federal cooperative department in Lagos organized small scale organization cooperative of cocoa farmers in Western Nigeria for the purpose of improving cocoa marketing.

          In 1975, cooperative n Nigeria was regionalized and each of the three regions became responsiblites in their regions.

Today each of the thirty six state shas their own separate cooperative department. Irrespective of the interest of the various state government in cooperative they have not recorded significance progress in cooperative development.

          This could be as a result of lack of performance on the application of cooperative principle and legislations.

          As soon a cooperative principles and legislation get maximum admission into the existing cooperative in Nigeria them people will have interest in joining cooperative a good example of enhancing the performance of co operative societies through the application of cooperative principles and legislation can go in the development of cooperative is looking at the famous history of the ridicule equitable pioneers of cooperative that launched the first successful cooperative in 1844.