SOLVING UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS THROUGH SMALL SCALE BUSINESS

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

 GENERAL BACKGROUND ON THE SUBJECT MATTER.

For one to appreciate the degree of unemployment in Ugwunye Development Center, it is necessary to X-ray the background of the subject matter. This Ugwunye is geopolitically located towards the North West of Udi Local Government Area and as such severally disadvantaged especially in employment and setting up of all sorts of Business including the small scale types.

It is therefore very pertinent to define both UNEMPLOYMENT and SMALL SCALE BUSINESS generally and narrow them down to Ugwunye as the case may be.

It is really difficult to define precisely unemployment in the economic literature. However, “unemployment is defined as a situation in which people who are willing to work at the prevailing WAGE RATE CANNOT FIND JOBS”. This definition is according to Augustus N. Gbosi (Ph.D) in his book, “Monetary Economics and Nigeria Financial System (1993) page 241 as published by Pam unique in Port Harcourt. The fact remains that the labour force in Ugwunye is high because people within the employable ages 15 – 40 years are all seeking paid employment and as such should be counted as part of the unemployment labour force. The definition lays emphasis on WILLINGNESS because if the emphasis is not so laid, the official rate of unemployment could be over emphasized. Here again labour force means all persons who are 15 years and above and that are either working for pay or actively seeking paid employment. Since labour force comprises the employed and unemployed particularly in Ugwunye (Egede and Affa) especially after the primary education (13 years and above).

            Definition of small-scale business is equally inexhaustible, but an attempt should be made to Nigeria environment According to Ani N. et al in their book “Small Business Entrepreneurship” (2002) pages 2&3 and published by NERCE PUBLICATION any manufacturing establishments whose manpower is less than ten people and its investment in machinery and equipment does not exceed N600, 000 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira) are referred to as SMALL SCALE INDUSTRIES”.

  Generally, the method used globally to measure the nature of any business includes: number of employees; the volume of sales; the financial strength or disposition, the relative size, initial capital outlay. Other parameters used include among many ones – private independent ownership, the type of such venture and relative companion between the business understudying and other present ones or those in the recent past. Information management is one of the parameters too. From the above definitions it is very glaring that there is high rate of unemployment in Ugwunye with out corresponding-

Small Scale Business to contain or offset the social problem. In a logical sequence therefore, it is very necessary to highlight the problems that are associated with the unemployment survey in ugwunye and probably proper solutions to them. They are precisely put down below.

 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE                

 UNEMPLOYMENT SURVEY IN UGWUNYE

ROAD NETWORK

            As was mentioned in section 1.1 above Ugwunye is made up of Egede and Affa Communities and geopolitically located towards North West of Udi Local government Area of Enugu State. The location so to say places it on a very disadvantaged position because it is not on the corridor of throughful that joins the Northern and Southern Parts of Nigeria. This lack of proper road network that connects to the main road stream makes road transport system irregular and infrequent. Apart from proper connection to the road grid, internal road network within ugwunye is inadequate and makes mobility impaired.

Consequently, most of the movements are done by bicycle or on foot.

  LACK OF STATISTICS AND DATA

BANKS

            In Ugwunye development center there she no records or statistics or data banks that one would refer to for a survey of this nature. It becomes very difficult for one to gather any meaningful information with which to start or work upon.

LEVEL OF EDUCATION ON THE PART OF THE EXISTING ENTREPRENEURS IN  UGWUNYE:

Basically most of the existing small-scale enterprises in Ugwunye are owned by people who are semi-illiterate and who do not keep proper records and as such it is difficult to collect reliable pieces of information during any survey or study.

THE PROBLEMS THAT THE STUDY WILL   BE CONCERNED WITH

THE EXTENT OF PRIVATE OWNERSHIP AND GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT

            Seventy five percent (75%) of the number of small scale ventures in Ugwunye are privately owned and as such makes the unemployment problems multiple. If one of the government agents like industrial development centers (IDCS) which were related to make sure that small and medium scale enterprises which could not employ highly skilled man power such as engineers, managers, and technical staff are assisted in solving their operational problems as well as raising of capital limited had make its impact within Ugwunye, the people could have been in a better footing business wise. It is only in the areas of education and health that the presence of Enugu State Government is partially felt because such institutions lack proper management and organization.

THE SCOPE OF THE EXISTING SMALL SCALE BUSINESS IN UGWUNYE

The scope or potential of the existing small-scale business in Ugwunye is small that requires the attention of some governmental organizations or non-governmental organizations to get improved upon in all the aspects especially in funds and management and organizational outfits. In order to make them sustainable as to employ enough people external intervention is a MUST. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS AND SOLVING   THEM THROUGH ESTABLISHMENT OF SMALL SCALE BUSINESSES IN UGWUNYE

The proper primary arm of this study is to find out the extent or level of unemployment in Ugwunye and proffer or suggest ways of controlling or solving such problems by advising the government Non – Governmental organizations on how best to achieve positive results. Again the existing and functional enterprises could be enlightened on how best to maximize their profit or where they fail them breakeven in their ventures. But before embarking on the project proper, it is necessary to highlight the types of unemployment in order to find out the one that most hits the area.

TYPES OF UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE ONES THAT MOST AFFECT UGWUNYE

            There are four major types of unemployment as mentioned below:

a).        Seasonal Unemployment

b).        Frictional Unemployment

c).        Structural Unemployment

d).        Cyclical Unemployment

The ones mentioned above are very general and could apply everywhere in the world, but other ones and causes below apply to Nigeria and more emphatically to Ugwunye Development Centre. They are:

(i)                 Seasonal Unemployment Arising from seasonal farming in the area and semi-Arid nature of the soil texture because of its porosity.

(ii)               Insecurity in people jobs and mass retrenchments in Nigeria.

(iii)             Influx of school leaves in the labour force.

(iv)             Instability in polity and incessant movements of people as a result of intertribal and religious squabbles. Because of the types of unemployment as mentioned above the level of unemployment is very high within the cordons of Ugwunye Local Government Development Centre made up of Egede and Affa Communities.

TYPES OF SMALL-SCALE BUSINESSES OPERATING PRESENTLY WITHIN UWUNYE

            Before enumerating the types and sizes of the small scale Business in Ugwunye, it is very pertinent to mention here that ninety percent (90%) of them are Not Registered with National Association for small-scale industries some of the small-scale businesses in Ugwunye include:

(i)                    Farming which comprises crop and animal husbandry (poultry and rearing of animal)

(ii)                  Wine tapping

(iii)                Garn processing and production of cassava paste (Akpu for fufu)

(iv)                Carpentry and mesoning

(v)                  Blacksmithing

(vi)                Sideway restaurants

(vii)               Trading on boiled bambla nuts, groundnuts and banana

(viii)            Radio and TV repairing and petty trading

Most of these businesses are so insignificant and can hardly sustain the entrepreneurs. It is therefore, very important to X-ray the level of unemployment, analyze the types of businesses available and come up with pieces of advise to the individuals involved and make comprehensive suggestions on how best to establish more functional and modern ones through the three levels of Government and the NGOs in Nigeria.

DEFINITIONS OF SOME OF THE TERMS USED   

 UNEMPLOYMENT AND SMALL-SCALE BUSINESS

            The terms have been defined earlier.

1.5.2                GEOPOLITICAL is an adjective derived from Geopolitics, which is the political relationship between countries and groups of countries, states and toward communities in the world. The study of the relations is also geopolitics in this context it is in relation to the position of Ugwunye in Udi L.G.A in regard to politics and geographical location of same – Ugwunye.

1.5.3                LABOUR FORCE it is all the people work for a company of country. It is normally made up of skilled and unskilled manpower.

1.5.4                SEASONAL  an event which varies with season is seasonal. An occasion which happens is needed during a particular seasonal. Hence seasonal unemployment.

1.5.5                STRUCTURAL UNEMPLOYMENT this is type of unemployment based on arrangement of labour force. It is very noticeable in classification of skilled labour force where some people could be put off labour market because of the way jobs are arrayed in favour or disfavour of others. Eg. Carpenters & Masons, Engineers and Architects.

1.5.6                CYCLICAL UNEMPLOYMENT unemployment maintains some degree of cycle such that it happens many times and repeatedly.