CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 Background of Study

Inequalities in the standard of living between geographical areas and the incidence of poverty are common global phenomena prevalent in both rich and poor countries, states and local government areas, and to the very foundation of the society – the home.

Economists have diagnosed the current poverty level as both “mismanagement oriented”, a situation in which scare resources are misappropriated, allocated for uneconomical use and as “dearth of potential capacity building” whereby citizens depend largely on white collar job for sustainability.

Other reasons for such marked inequalities are the unequal distribution of natural resources, differences in agro-climatic conditions, geographical differences in distances to centers of commerce and geographical bias infrastructure distribution policy decision as shown in the poor quality of local infrastructure such as access roads, availability of public services and utilities in all the selected localities for the study.

Poverty in any community is a serious setback to the economic, political, social and general development of the society. More so, in a society like ours characterized by low education, unskilled labour, wasteful lifestyle, non delivery of total quality policy package based on needs, policy leakages to non target population and traditional values and norms have all affected the performance of poverty alleviation initiatives.

The general consensus is that all of the forces fuelling poverty work at tandem, reinforcing each other in an ever upward spiral of reduced economic power. Underlying these poverty induced economic pressures are erratic new features of the Nigerian economy, such as the incessant inter communal conflicts resulting into wanton destruction of life and properties, increased crime rate resulting from lack of employment powered by recent massive job cuts by government and heightened political biases, continuous moral decadence leading to juvenile delinquency among youths and the general depletion and degradation of essential finite non-renewable scarce resources.

This phenomenon is long ranged, and needs creation of a vibrant, entrepreneurial society to the rescue. And if left unchecked could threaten the very foundation of our society, take away our freedom and bring down our nascent democracy. 

1.1  Statement of Problem

A good life is part of every mans’ dream. Poverty is sometimes super imposed on man by nature and the predicament man find himself in. A critical examination of this state of man and a well organize plan for life can gradually pushed away the problems. This explain why multilateral organization like World Bank, United Nations Development Project have in the Millennium Development Goals made poverty reduction one of its core objectives. There have not been practically self-administered programme package put in place to curtail the growth of poverty and its attendant consequences. 

Poverty has hindered the optimization of human capital development resulting in a low capacity utilization of human and scarce material resources of the nation – a very important factor to economic development of any nation. Changes in government in Nigeria over the years have led to the emergence of different poverty alleviation programmes as well as complementary policies.

The pervasiveness of poverty in Nigeria is disturbing, but what is more frightening is the obvious dearth of effective schemes to address the issue of poverty reduction on a sustainable basis. It is in view of this the research study is undertaken to find out how enabling entrepreneurial society can provide support to sustaining poverty reduction.

1.2  Research Objectives

The need to adopt entrepreneurial stance in alleviating poverty is informed by multi dimensional considerations. The first is that it is becoming increasingly and universally acceptable, the need for team work as it produces synergical effect. Secondly, the opportunity for enterprise is present in virtually all industries, making it easy to practice. Furthermore, quite a good number of people living in the rural areas can start a business of their own with minimal capital, less academic requirement and yet succeed in managing small business and  live life on their own term happily.

 It is the fundamental objectives of the study:

(i)                To identify those segments of the community worst hurt by poverty and those that has managed to escape these hurts.

(ii)             To understand generally the concept of entrepreneurship and its applicability to rural development.

(iii)           To gain an understanding of the extent to which Poverty

Alleviation programmes have collectively achieved their goals.

(iv)           To analyze how the integration of entrepreneurial skills into poverty reduction programmes in Nigeria can produce positive results.

(v)             To document in a systematic way how communities that have experienced varying degrees of “poverty hurt” have adjusted to change in lifestyles, the coping strategies they have developed, and the impact that poverty has had on family structure, marriage, mental health and basic value orientation.

. 1.3 Research Questions

 From the foregoing, the following research questions are examined in the course of the study.

(i)                To what extent has previous approaches targeted at poverty reduction yielded the expected results?

(ii)             How have the poor responded in accepting these programmes?

(iii)           What has been the level of development in the communities after the implementation of the programmes?

(iv)           To what extent has entrepreneurship contributed to the peaceful running of homes?

1.4 Research Hypothesis

Also the following hypothesis will be tested.

Ho:  Entrepreneurship does not reduce poverty.

Hi: Entrepreneurship has effect on poverty reduction.

1.5 Significance of the Study

Entrepreneurs are drivers of change and progress. They move the society from a crude one to a highly sophisticated level. It is deserving to empower the poor by organizing their thoughts

and resources for delivering values and choices to the society. It is also important to harness their potentials for producing a fitness for entrepreneurial life and also preserve the lifestyle of an entire cultures.

The research makes a significant contribution to knowledge which is directly relevant to policy makers, families, employers, mentoring managers, unemployed youths and development agencies. 

The study is intended to provide insights into changes in family lifestyles as a result of effectiveness of entrepreneurship on modern society. This knowledge would be of great value to these classes of people who will design programmes that will help people cope with problems.

1.6 Scope of Study

The research work is centered on studying business, its foundation, and application to poverty reduction. Considering the intricacies of the subject matter (bearing on family, individual and community issues), the scope would be limited to studying mushin local government area in lagos state, this is due to the poor living condition and standard of living in the area, hoping that it will provide adequate data sufficient enough to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria.

1.7 Limitations of Study

Militating factors as high cost of transportation and coverage of large area network were major problems encountered.

There were also difficulties in conducting interviews as respondents were reluctant in sharing information considered to be “trade secrets”.

Studying a large sample size of this nature can be stressful and so can result into a burnout situation. However, the research work was completed with the believe that the output would contribute immensely to human capital development.

 1.8 Operational Definitions of Terms

To capture the understanding of any reader of this research work, unfamiliar terms frequently use in writing this work are hereby defined.

Shareholders: The owner of one or more shares in a company. Shares are portion of something owned or contributed by a person or group.

 Enterprise: A project or undertaking, especially one that requires boldness or effort. Readiness to embark on new ventures initiative in business.

Niche: Relating to or aimed at a small specialized group or market.

Household: The people living together in one house.

SWOT: An acronym for strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats used in analysis of a product made before it is marketed.

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