THE ROLE OF SMALL BUSINESS IN POVERTY ALLEVIATION

Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

Urban and rural economic structure in Nigeria has changed significantly over the past two decades (Dissart and Deller, 2000). After a decade of unprecedented expansion of the economy of the nation, many regions in West Virginia are still suffering from high unemployment, shrinking economic base, deeply rooted poverty, low human capital formation, and out migration (Deavers and Hope, 1992). West Africa ranks second to last in per capita income and lags the nation and the rest of the Appalachian region in almost any other indicators measuring income, wealth, and health, making a classic example of persistent poverty (Dilger and Witt, 1994; Haynes, 1997; Maggar, 1990).

Nigeria is one of the nation’s most rural states and economic restructuring across the nation has affected it in ways that are significantly different from the experience of urbanized regions. For example, while the decline of employment opportunities in extractive industries has had little direct impact in urban areas, Nigeria has lost direct mining jobs, even while production remained high. The slow growth of income and employment in the state, out-migration and the disappearance of rural households are both causes and effects of persistent high rates of poverty.

This lagging economic development negatively affect the economic and social well-being of West Virginia’s rural population, the health of its local businesses, and the ability of its local government to provide basic human services (Cushing and Rogers, 1996). 2 Widely dispersed small communities with relatively small local and regional markets dominate Nigeria. The businesses that serve these markets also tend to be small. Thus, considering one-by-one count, it is therefore tempting to dismiss small businesses as unimportant. Collectively, however, they make a large contribution to the economic diversity of small communities. In fact, small business is a big business in Nigeria. Through their capital investments they create jobs and new opportunities to promote community-building and social activities. They also contribute to the development of a diversified economy by absorbing surplus labor resulting from economic restructuring. Improving the state’s economic basis requires an economic environment where business can prosper.

Nigeria, however, despite efforts of multilateral, national and local policy programs to induce economic prosperity and ameliorate poverty, has many economically depressed areas and regions. To strengthen and diversify the economy, policy makers and local leaders need to know the characteristics and impact of small businesses on the local economy. Understanding the characteristics of poverty and the contribution of small businesses to economic growth of the local economy is crucial in designing specific and appropriate development policies. The targets of such policies are to improve and expand community-based capabilities and initiatives in order to assist small communities to retain and expand local small businesses.

Understanding the relationship between small businesses, economic growth and the incidence of poverty has been the interest of many researchers and there have been many attempts to establish statistical relationships between poverty rates and overall macroeconomic performance on the basis of aggregate time-series data. However, some 3 studies have not only indicated contradictory evidence about the role of small businesses but also produced results that rejected the view that small business are the engines of job creation and economic growth (Rosenzweig, 1988; Brown et al., 1990; Liedholm and Mead, 1987). Nigeria is predominantly rural with more than 80 % of the total population living in rural areas (Joseph, 2005).

The economy is basically agrarian with most of the people living in squalor and poor level of living which is attributed to poverty. (Ajayi, 2009). Poverty has diverse economic on social dimensions that express its manifestation in lack of income and insufficient productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihood. Poverty indicators include: hunger and malnutrition, or lack of access to quality education and basic services, increased molidity and mortality which occur as a result of illness in adequate housing homelessness, unsafe environment and social dissemination. As a matter of fact the concept of poverty does not subject itself to any straight Jacket definition (Agumagu, 2000), all these indicators are the attribute of poverty in the rural areas of Sokoto state.

Since mid-seventies, successive governments in Nigeria have come up with a lot of laudable initiatives or programmes geared toward poverty alleviation (Idachaba, 2006). Such programmes include, Operation Feed the Nation (OFN) 1976, the Green Revolution (GR) 1980, The Structural AdjustmentProgramme (SAP) 1986, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP) 1993, and National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) 2000. The National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), which has it main objectives to improve the socio economic welfare of rural people, with a properly structured organizational frame work for its achievement is an offshoot of poverty alleviation programme (PAP) and it was established in 2001 (Aliu, 2001 Joseph, 2005; Gumwa, 2009).

Similarly, in 2007 Sokoto state government launched the state poverty reduction (SPORA) to run the youth skills acquisition, especially among women. It also aim to boost the agricultural sector by providing 300 tractors, 50,000 irrigation pumps and 200 rice threshing machines. The programme has so far graduated over 17,000 youth on various skills acquisition in 2012. The government recently earmarked N90, 000,000 for the purchase of 300 tricycles popularly known as Keke NAPEP as a strategy in poverty reduction. Despite all the above programmes, little has change in the rural areas; all these failed to bring the number in absolute poverty down.

This is to the fact that, most of the programmes are urban based, they are politically tailored and most benefits went to few party members, no emphasis on sustainable small scale enterprises and there is no proper coordination between the tiers of government and the targeted members (poor people).It has been observe that all the effort made were not concern with the idea of establishing small scale enterprises in order to promote economic growth and supplement income from farming activities during the dry season as well as controlling mass migration especially to the southern part of Nigeria

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

The level of poverty that this country is in now demands that this poverty alleviation mechanism intended to be an emergency, to address some of the most urgent social concerns of the Nigeria’s vulnerable groups, such as the poor, widows, orphans, the disabled, the urban poor, the urban displaced (like the 300,000 Lagos Maroko inhabitants that that were forcibly removed by the military, and the victims of the previous and the present religious disturbances.)

The rural poor, the environmental refugees of he Niger-Delta people and the erosion prone Akwa Ibom people, the old age people and the retrenched civil − servants and others who are affected due to the economic down-turn occasioned by mis-management and the subsequent economic reforms. These groups of people need urgent attention. They should not be left to their fate for their fate is in Nigeria. Infect, poverty makes people compromise on moral values or abandon moral values completely. Poverty has created frustration, loss of hope, prospects of living, something to live for and disillusionment about morality because criminals are living best. In order words, poverty is a cause of corruption while corruption is a cause of quench of poverty and loss of moral values.

1.3 Objective Of The Study

The objectives of these studies are:

1. To access the role of small business in the Nigeria economy
2. To access the impact of small business in poverty alleviation in Nigeria especially in Ubotex Nigeria Limited.
3. The study will also assess the extent of awareness on the part of the poor towards the role of small business as a mechanism in alleviating poverty.
4. Also, whether business has help to change the problems hitter to plagued the poor in Ubotex Nigeria Limited and the country at large or not.
5. To ascertain whether there is any positive and significant relationship between business and poverty alleviation in Ubotex Nigeria Limited.

1.4 Research Questions

These questions are:

1. What is poverty alleviation all about?
2. Why is the role of small business necessary on poverty alleviation in Nigeria and Ubotex Nigeria Limited in particular?
3. Has small business impact on the poor positively or negatively?
4. How has this poverty alleviation programmes been implemented?
5. Is there areas where this poverty alleviation programme can be strengthen?
6. How sure are we that small business do help in alleviating poverty in Nigeria and in Ubotex Nigeria Limited?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

1. H0: Small business has no positive impact on poverty alleviation in Nigeria and in Ubotex Nigeria Limited
   H1: Small business has a positive impact on poverty alleviation in Nigeria and in Ubotex Nigeria Limited in particular.
2. H02: There is no significant relationship between small business and poverty alleviation in Ubotex Nigeria Limited and Nigeria as a whole.
   H2: There is a significant relationship between business and poverty alleviation in Ubotex Nigeria Limited and Nigeria as a whole.

1.6 Scope And Limitation Of The Study

This research is aimed at assessing the role of small business in alleviating poverty in Nigeria, a case study of Ubotex Nigeria Limited is one disease that has left Ubotex Nigeria Limited people designed and under-develop and Nigerian in general, for it to be eradicated successfully, people business or the other so as to improve their standards of living.

Therefore, the scope of these study will not go beyond Ubotex Nigeria and Nigeria in general.

(a) Availability of research material:

The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.

(b) Time:

The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

(c) Finance:

The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.7 Significance Of The Study

The importance of this study cannot be over emphasized. Business on it own plays significant role in the social by making goods and services available within the Nigerian economy. Therefore, an economy is made up of business activities that are consciously set up and directed at providing want satisfying goods and services, thereby help to reduce poverty in the lives of those who engaged in the activities.

Any research is always beneficial to various interest groups within the economy. This research will be beneficial to government can help the poor by granting loans and subsides so that they can start small scale business to better their lives. It will also help the government in formulating economic policies. This research will also help the poor to identify the class of business activities they should embark upon. The study will create awareness among Ubotex Nigeria by engaging in economic activities.

This research will by extension enable the micro-finance institutions to realize the need to provide loans to the people at grass root for investment. Above all, this research will be of immense benefit to the reading public and researching students who will wish to carry out further study on this topic and related ones a sit will form a reference point for them

1.8 Definition Of Terms

Poverty

Poverty is the scarcity or the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Poverty is a multifaceted concept, which may include social, economic, and political elements.

Poverty alleviation

Poverty reduction, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty

SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises or small and medium-sized businesses are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits

1.8 Organization Of The Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

1. Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
2. Chapter two highlights theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
3. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
4. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
5. Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study