THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

THE ROLE OF COOPERATIVE SOCIETY IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

BACKGROUND STUDY

With the world economy gradually globalizing, it could have been assumed that 'emerging' countries would catch up, yet the reverse has occurred. In certain nations, such as Nigeria, prosperity has been accompanied with rising inequality, with the gains failing to reach the poor. Others, such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, have seen development stall to the point of reversal (Ward, & Zurbruegg, 2018). Even when there is economic progress, the number of people living in poverty rises everywhere (Birchall, 2004). We also know that expansion has a cost; the environmental damage that typically comes with it pushes more people into poverty. Nigeria, one of Africa's richest countries, is not immune to these issues. Despite its immense oil riches and other natural and human resources, 35 percent of the population lives in acute poverty, with up to 54 percent living in relative poverty. Almost half of all people in Nigeria, live on less than a dollar a day Ujunwa, & Modebe (2017). The rate of health emergencies and failing health care systems, level of poverty and hunger, level of illiteracy etc.has increased significantly to a worrisome point. The Federal government has set out issues and goals to be addressed in order to achieve a sustainable level of development.

To attain the desired results of growth and development in Nigeria, several strategies and models must be utilized at the national and local levels among groups of people who have common interests. People have been cooperating since the beginning of time. Traditional types of cooperation featured community members voluntarily pooling financial resources through contributions, which was an organization of individuals with the shared goal of mobilizing resources, particularly financially, and distributing it to members on a rotating basis (Uche, & Chikeleze, 2015). Cooperative societies are now recognized as a vital tool for a community's socioeconomic growth. Cooperative societies are essentially self-help organizations of people that band together to address their needs (Soon 2017).

Cooperative Societies have grown to be recognized as a powerful tool for fostering economic empowerment, particularly among women and other vulnerable and marginalized groups. They have continued to play important roles in the economies of many countries. In the Republic of Kenya, for example, cooperatives account for 45 percent of GDP and 31 percent of National Savings and Deposits. They control 70% of the coffee market, 76% of the dairy market, 90% of the pyrethrum market, and 95% of the cotton market. Cooperatives directly and indirectly employ almost a quarter of a million people in the country. Agricultural cooperatives in South Korea have approximately two million farmers as members, accounting for around nine-tenths of all farmers in the country, with an annual production of USD 11 billion (Todaro, & Smith, 2019). Approximately one billion individuals are active in cooperatives in some capacity, either as members/customers, employees/participants, or both. Globally, cooperatives employ at least 100 million people. Cooperative societies are expected to provide a living for roughly half of the world's population. The combined earnings of the world's 300 largest cooperative societies are USD 1.6 trillion, which is similar to the GDP of Spain, the world's ninth largest country (Todaro, & Smith, 2019).

A cooperative society is the voluntary gathering of persons with similar interests with the goal of meeting members' mutual economic or social needs. Members benefit from one another's ideas, abilities, skills, and energy by combining their efforts. In this way, they are able to do things that they could not do as well (or at all) on their own in areas like as production, marketing, distribution, thrift, education, and so on. According to the International Cooperative Alliance, a cooperative society is an independent organization of people who have come together freely to achieve their shared economic, social, and cultural needs and goals through a jointly owned and democratically controlled company (Skipper, 2017).

Prior research has concentrated on determining the worth of cooperativism in regions. Cooperatives are seen to be crucial for the development and expansion of territories because they have an influence on the creation of jobs in underserved areas, on meeting new social demands that react to groups at risk of social exclusion, and, in short, on the promotion of social capital. In the same manner, the cooperative-related institutions and groups, always contain references to this component in their reports. Following the release of the most recent report of the Federal Government of Nigeria, cooperatives are emphasized as essential local private sector actors under the following concepts: "Cooperative companies are a wonderful match with the EU2020 agenda, which aspires for a sustainable economy that prioritizes people and responsibility while fighting exclusion and transitioning to a green economy." (Otto, & Ukpere, 2015).

​​​​​​​STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

According to Onyeaghocha  (2018), cooperatives allow individuals who would otherwise have little financial or political power to meet their needs and better their condition. Cooperatives can so foster the collective self-interest of otherwise 'weak' individuals while also assisting in making current government and other organizations more responsive to community demands. Cooperativism is commonly regarded as a critical component of a community's economic development plan. Because of the better relationships between cooperative members and their ties to the community, the significance of cooperativism in the process of creating social capital is highlighted. Cooperatives' social capital is derived not just from their internal traits, but also from their external relationships. They are deeply embedded in their surroundings. Thus the Federal Government have and are closely working with the co-operative societies to enhance and sustain development especially in the rural areas. Cooperatives' and the cooperative movement's voices are not being heard clearly, and their participation in the process of formulating SDGs has not realized its full potential (Onyeaghocha 2018). Despite the fact that the Federal Government acknowledged the potential role of cooperatives in the attainment of sustainable development, this remains the case. But is it really working? Have the co-operative societies been able to effectively play their parts in the sustainable development goals of the Federal Government?

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