ABSTRACT
The generation of employment opportunities through entrepreneurship which
brings about economic growth and development cannot be overemphasized. As at
2008, the small and medium enterprises sector provides, on average, fifty
percent of Nigeria’s employment and fifty percent of industrial output.
Therefore, this study critically assesses the role of entrepreneurship in
employment generation in Nigeria, using Ishiagu in Ivo L.G.A of Ebonyi State as
the case study. To achieve this, the study employs chi-square method of data
analysis. Primary data were obtained through the administration of 150
questionnaires to some selected business across the state. Two hypotheses were
tested at five percent level of significance and the results shows that
entrepreneurship plays a significant role in employment generation and
employment generation in turn plays a significant role in economic development of
Ishiagu. In view of this, the study made some useful and practical
recommendation to be adopted in order to encourage entrepreneurship for greater
employment generation among which are; implementation of power sector reforms
and stabilization of the power sector, control of religious, ethnic and
political crisis, development of infrastructure such as roads, schools and
vocational training centers and provision of free land in industrial estate to
entrepreneurs.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
The twenty first century has been
tagged the “entrepreneurial age”. This is because entrepreneurship is seen as
one of the basic means of stimulating economic growth and development through
the generation of greater employment opportunities, development of local
technological base and conservation of foreign exchange earning of national
governments (Sule, 1986; World Bank, 1995).
Right from independence in 1960,
unemployment has been raising phenomenon and as a result many Nigerians have
become jobless to the extent that government itself may not actually know the
rate of unemployment today. Many of the jobless people have taken to crimes
like arm robbery, drug trafficking and prostitution among others. This problem
of unemployment has been further worsened by various factors, peculiar to the
Nigerian situations. These include poor planning or no planning at all, micro-economy,
that is, total dependence on oil with its attendant price fluctuations in the
world market, political and civil instability among others (Olagunju, 2008).
It is in realization of the damage of
unemployment that the Federal Government has put in place policies and
programmes such as the establishment of the National Directorate of Employment
(NDE) in 1986 to work out strategies for dealing with the mass unemployment in
the country especially among school leavers and Universities graduates. This
makes the unemployed persons to be self reliant and self employed by acquiring
skills in any trade of their choice as a means of earning a living. A person
who has acquired a skill becomes employed of labour instead of searching for a
white collar job that does not exist (Musa, 2000)
What
has come from the poor state of Nigerian economy, at least from the beginning
of 1980, is that many are learning and wishing to be their own rather than
looking up to government for employment. Today, there are university and college
graduate who have established businesses of their own and are carrying on well.
Businesses being ventured into include: poultry, farming, animal rearing,
hairdressing, barbing, soap making, block making, baking, commercial
transportation, distributive trade, estate agency, tailoring, laundry and dry
cleaning, Office and industrial cleaning. All these enterprises are established
and managed by individuals who desire to be economically independent and also
want to contribute their quota to the development of the nation. Today, such
enterprises are spread all over the places to the development of the nation.
Today, such enterprises are spread all over the places, in cities, towns and
village across the country (Nwoye, 1994).
What is interesting is that government
(at various levels) is gradually beginning to realize that these enterprises
could be the corner stone of the greatness of the Nigerian economy. Perhaps,
this is why various governments are doing one thing or the other to promote and
encourage the development of private entrepreneurship.
Plateau state being one of the
thirty-six states that make up the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has put in
place some measures to promote and encourage the development of
entrepreneurship. This could be seen in terms of finance, provision of
infrastructural facilities, policies and moral encouragement among others too
numerous to mention.
1.2 RESEARCH
PROBLEM
According to (Olagunju, 2008), the
problem encountered in an effort to give entrepreneurship a boost include
shortage and inadequate infrastructural facilities and unsafe transportation
system coupled with collapse road network in Nigeria. Entrepreneur who are
engaged in distributive trade are greatly hampered by this factor. May
entrepreneurs lack credit facilities, building/ shop and water supply to enable
them produce because most of them cannot afford the huge capital that is
required to start up a business. In addition to this, the power supply has been
disappointing. Lack of trust by Nigerians is also seen a s a problem facing
entrepreneurship development. Many Nigerians do not believe and trust the
ability and capability of our local entrepreneurs. There is this common believe
that whatever is made in Nigeria is inferior to that made from abroad. This has
seriously affected the fortunes of the local entrepreneurs as many of them lack
patronage.
Another problem of entrepreneurship
in the country is lack of education and technical knowhow by many
entrepreneurs. Many of the entrepreneurs are illiterates or with little
education without the needed technological skills.
1.3 STATEMENT
OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Entrepreneurship has occupied a very
important place in the policies and programmes of private individuals and
governments at different levels due to the role it plays in the economy,
particularly in generating employment opportunities. To achieve these
objectives this research will attempt to answer the following questions.
i.
Has
Entrepreneurship play an important role in employment generation and economic development.
ii.
Has
Entrepreneurship been able to reduce unemployment rate in Nigeria particularly
in Plateau State.
iii.
Does
the challenge of Entrepreneurship affect development in Nigeria?
iv.
What
are the effective measures to be taken to tackle unemployment in Nigeria?
1.4 OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The primary objective of this
research is to ascertain the role of entrepreneurship in employment generation
in Nigeria with Plateau State as a case study. However, there are other
secondary objectives that this research will try to analyze, these include:
i.
To
examine the role of entrepreneurship in employment generation and economic
development
ii.
To
assess the rate of employment generation in Nigeria
iii.
To
examine how entrepreneurship can improve economic development in Nigeria.
iv.
To
identify some entrepreneurship activities being ventured into
v.
To
analyze the problems of entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
1.5 STATEMENT
OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The main purpose of this research is
to enable us determine the role played by entrepreneurship in generating
employment in Nigeria. Therefore the hypothesis to be tested in this study is
the Null hypotheses (Ho) against the alternative hypothesis (H1) at 5% level of
significance. Thus,
H0:
β=0 Entrepreneurship has no significant role on employment generation in
Plateau State.
H1: β=0 Entrepreneurship has
significant role on employment generation in Plateau State.
H0: β=0 Employment generation has no
significant role in the development of Plateau State economy.
H1: β=0 Employment generation has
significant role in the development of Plateau State economy.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The significance of this research is
providing valuable understanding of the role played by entrepreneurship in
employment generation in the Nigerian economy and therefore identify ways to
encourage entrepreneurship towards employment generation and economic
development. This research is not only beneficial to the researcher in his
academic pursuit and in broadening his educational horizon but also beneficial
in providing recommendations to the unemployed, students, entrepreneurs policy
makers and the society in general.
Entrepreneurship
has turned out to be a substantial engine of development in Nigeria. Specially,
one of the most important and immediate benefits of entrepreneurship is its
ability to create employment for both the skilled, unskilled, the highly
educated, the less educated and even illiterate members of the society thereby
reducing the level of the social vices.
To the unemployed, most especially
University and College graduates, this research has the potential o developing
an entrepreneurial spirit in their hearts, inspiring them to develop a feasible
business, ideas, building the business venture and managing them to
successfully growth and maturity.
The introduction of entrepreneurship
development curricula in our educational system (secondary and tertiary
institutions) is geared at stimulating and entrepreneurial spirit among
students. This research therefore provides them with the basics of
entrepreneurship.
To Policy Makers, the research
serves as an insight into the role of entrepreneurship on employment generation
by examining the challenges of entrepreneurship in Nigeria. It also provides an
analytical data that becomes a necessary guide for information and decision
making.
To the Entrepreneurs, this
research will serve as a guide to them in carrying our feasibility studies and
also provide them with the basic foundation and information needed to start a
business.
Finally
to the Society, this research has the potential of making a society be
productive as it tries to identify some profitable business that can be
ventured into which will in turn increase their income and the country’s gross
domestic product (GDP).
1.7 SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
This research covers a period of ten
(10) years from 2002 to 2012 and it is restricted to the role of
entrepreneurship on employment generation in Nigeria using Plateau state as the
case study. it is assumed that what is obtained in terms of operational
practices and policies regarding the role of entrepreneurship on employment
generation will be generally applicable to other state in Nigeria.
1.8 LIMITATIONS
OF THE STUDY
The
limitations faced while carrying out this work are too numerous to mention, but
among them are; unavailability of library facilities within gthe study
environment, inadequate of secondary data materials, restriction of some
documents for the study considerations etc.
1.9 DEFINITION
OF TERMS
Development: An event constituting a new stage in a changing
situation.
Entrepreneur: A person who sets up a business or businesses,
taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
Entrepreneurship: The capacity and willingness to
develop, organize and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in
order to make a profit.
Nation: A large body of people united by common descent,
history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory.
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