INTRODUCTION
The co-operatives is a very broad topic. It is found throughout the whole world. We found in capitalist countries, in socialist countries and sometimes, countries, which are regarded to have what we called mixed economy. They are found in the developing countries or third world countries.
The owed co-operative that has come tousled as an adjectival noun is from the verb to co-operate or the noun cooperation. The term co-operation can be used as a generic term covering a wild area of activity in which tow or more people join together whether formally or not formally on abhor on legally or illegally or socially accepted or unaccepted action to archive some aims. Su h action may be selfish in nature or by be the public good or in the interest of those performing the action without it being detrimental to any one else. It also use in narrower sense to mean activity undertaking by co-operatives and other self-help organization.
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G.J Holyoake, one the foremost British co-operative pioneer, propagandist and author bring out this two meaning succinctly with borders on the definition and charat3eristics of the co-operative according to Holyoke, co-operative is an organized self help by honest labour and honest trade; the profit been equitably divided among those who created them whether by word of mouth or by brain. That is what we understand as industrial co-operatives.
There is a familiar use of the word co-operation which mean two or more people or thing acting together to produce result as when man and lever gets together to move long or a cat’s paw or employed to pull chestnut form the fire, or as when physician marries the daughter of undertaker with a view to uniting the business. In the cases the log is not consulted, the cats get no chestnuts. The owner is not plundered by the two thief unite and the patient dose not profit by the patient of the pestle and the spade , to the general public, the act of concert equally mean co-operatives. We mean by the word, the co-operation of honest industry with a view for equitable share of the profit and if the laborer and the trader be not honest, the public is cheated and the co-operation will be an organize form of fraud.
On the character of a true co-operation, He writes, in the same work that co-operation mean concern for the diffusion of wealth. It leaves no body out who help to produce it. It touches no man fortune, it seeks no plunder, it causes no disturbance in the society, it gives no trouble to statement, it enter no secret association, it needs no trade union to protect its interest. It contemplates no violence, it subverts no order. it loses not dignity . It accepts no guilt or ask for any favour. It keeps no time with the idle and will break no faith with the industrious. It neither mendicant, servile nor offensive, it has its hands in no man’s pocket and dose not mean that any hand shall remain long and comfortable in its own. It means self-help, dependency, as such share of common competence as labour shall earn or thought shall win.
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According to professor Caselman, co-operation is an economic system with a social context. According to professor Ernest Gruenfeld, a German, a co-operative is an association made up of social weak person endeavoring to archive certain social aim within the framework of and enterprise open to all and based on the rule of solidarity and democracy.
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Berko, a Ghanian (1987, P.13) define co-operative thus; an association of person with variable membership who have pulled themselves and their resources together on manual or self-help basis to form business organization which seeks to solve the economic problem and socio economic problem of the members by directly providing goods and service to them in their capacity as either he costumers or the employee of the co-operative enterprise. He goes father to mention he ingredient that will contain in a co-operative society. Every one has its own definition of co-operative, but the one which is generally accepted is that of the ICA, that a co-operative society is an association of person who have voluntarily joined together to archive a common end through the formation of democratically controlled organization making equitable contribution to the capital required and accepting a fair share of risk and benefits of the undertaking in which the members actively participate. They are for the common people “ a mechanism for the defense and emancipation to combat the harsh condition brought about by the mercantile economy.
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The co-operative movement started in the 19th century during the time of industrial revolution in Britain. The first successful co-operative society. The rochadel Equitable pioneers was founded in 1844 by twenty-eight ideavers.
The origin of co-operative in Anambra can traced to the origin of co-operative I Nigeria. The first attempt of forming a modern co-operative society was initiated at Agege a predominantly coca farming area in Yoruba land. The co-operative movement in Nigeria is about fifty years old. Its history date back to early 1930’s when the British government having successfully introduces co-operatives in India and 1912 tried to bring it into Nigeria. The Nigerian government in 1933 appointed Mr. C.F Strickland to study the possibility of introducing co-operative in Nigeria. Mr. Strickland strongly recommended the introduction of co-operative society into Nigeria and his report submitted in April 1934 forms the corner stone for the introduction of modern co-operative into Nigeria. Mr. Strickland also drafted a proposed ordinance and regulations. His report was accepted and quietly implemented. A register of co-operative in the name of Mr. E.A.F.G Haig was appointed and send for training oversea. Mr. Haig studied the India co-operative and modified in Nigeria. The first job of the new register was to re-organize the cocoa farmers society and union, which were already marketing the best quality cocoa in the country. The second task was to bring them under the protection of the law. The co-operative society ordinance of No. 39 of the 1935 was assented to in the name of the king of England on the 3rd the December 1935 and the regulation made thereafter came into force on the 16the February 1936. co-operation continued to progress and by 1951, following the reorganization, the co-operative movement came under the supervision of various regional government vis; east west and north. In 1944, the co-operative federation of Nigeria was formed which supervise by the staff of the co-operative division that is attached to one ministry or the other. In the formal Anambra state, the co-operative is in the ministry of trade and the director of co-operatives heads the co-operative service. The co-operative federation of Anambra state was registered in 1991 under the provision of the revised co-operative law of the eastern Nigerian cap.28 of 1963 as No. 1722 of 24th December 1991. Is registered office was located at No 321 Enugu road Awka. However, the co-operative federation of Anambra state was created from the old Anambra state co-operative movement.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Co-operative societies in the Nigeria today are faced with a lot of problem. The problems go a long way to hampering their growth and prospects in the country and thereby limiting their potential contribution to the development and upliftment of our distressed economy. Such problem is;
The researcher will focus attention on the impact of the co-operative apex with a particular reference to co-operative federation of Anambra state ltd (COFAS) and what the management should do to alleviate the problem hindering the economic emancipation and opportunity available to COFAS for the development of co-operatives in Anambra state which will be determine through the use of questionnaire and sample survey at the apex society cited and how the management policy of the apex should be fashioned to march the objective of the researcher.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
Generally, the purpose of this study is to find out ways by which the co-operative Apex will help in the development o-operatives in Anambra state.
It is especially;
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is very important in the society. The co-operatives is an organization which help in the entire economic growth. Its benefit improves the standard of living in the society. To a very large extent, the co-operatives drastically reduce the unemployment saga. The finding of the study will go long way in helping the management of the co-operative federation of Anambra state and all co-operative society of primary and secondary level to adept and solve problem of poor management.
This will enable the state apex to gain support and loyalty of government since it is a society at a federal level.
In some secondary and primary society, it will be of benefit for growth and formulation of other society to the help the masses.
This work will be very useful for reference research work. it will be of benefit to anyone who will have the time to go through it especially the department of co-operative and management studies.
It is however said that the need foe most researcher is the collection and interpretation of data and those other motive inspire the researcher work as it is a continues exercise.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The work covers the activity of co-operative federation of Anambra state (COFAS). In projection co-operation in the state, the procedure involve in registering co-operatives, how to make a co-operative federation to stand and he benefit of the members of the society in general. The problem affecting rapid development of co-operative in the state were also treated and possible remedies to the problem were also provided. Personally, the researcher wills term the scope –“COFAS†– the journey to far.
In the course of this study, time was a major problem. There were no enough time to effectively combine the research work and the academic study. The fact-finding exercise was very difficult. The researcher visited the case study on several occasions for face owing to the nature of the work. The staff were not always in the office or free to grant interviews and give some data.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
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