ENTREPRENEURAL EDUCATION AS A TOOL FOR REDUCING VIOLENCE AMONG NIGERIA YOUTH FOR SUSTAINABILITY (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
- INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Entrepreneurship is a widely used term and is seldom completely understood by many who use it. It is a step in the right direction in the achievement of development. The need for entrepreneurship education started emerging in the mid 1980s. This is because before this period, unemployment and poverty were not a national concern as it is currently. However, political instability and inconsistencies in the social-economic policies of successive government led to the emergence of high level unemployment in Nigeria. In the mid-80s, the Nigeria economy collapsed while youth and graduate unemployment hit the roof. There was large-scale layoff of workers and early retirements as a result of structural adjustment policies and bad economic trends in the country. In the face of this situation, entrepreneurship, which would have salvaged the situation, was not encouraged. It has been observed that tertiary education has not been properly included in the philosophy of self-reliance such as creating a new cultural and productive environment that will promote pride in primitive work and self-discipline, encouraging people to take part actively and freely in discussions and decisions affecting their general welfare, promoting new sets of attitudes and culture for their attainment of future challenges. Ayodele (2006) identified inadequate capital to be one of the principal factors hindering entrepreneurship in the country. Other problems identified by ayodele (2006) included irrelevant education that is bookish, theoretic and “white-collar job” oriented. Also, Nigeria’s macro-economic environment is unhealthy and unstable for a virile entrepreneurship to sustain the economy.
In addition, government programs are not designed to promote entrepreneurship, looking at the country-Nigeria, the level of infrastructural development provided by the government is still very low and this has been affecting to a very high extent the level of productivity and entrepreneurial activities in the country. The high rate of many business enterprises as winding up prematurely consequent upon the employable and unemployable youths and adults idle away. It is against this backdrop that this paper set to look into entrepreneurship education as a tool for sustainable economy in Nigeria. Many academic disciplines have contributed their perspectives on the concept of entrepreneurship, including psychology, sociology, economics, and management. An economist views entrepreneurship in the context of the combination of resources, labor, materials, and other assets such that their value is greater together than individually. From management perspective, entrepreneurship would entail the introduction of a change, an innovation, or a new order. To a psychologist, an entrepreneur would be analyzed as a person typically driven by the need to obtain or attain a specific goal, to experiment, to accomplish, or perhaps to escape the authority of others.
There is a very little consensus on the definition of the term entrepreneur both within and across disciplines; most definitions nonetheless highlight qualities such as competitiveness, creativity, and the ability to grow a business. Education is a veritable tool for enhancing economic growth and national development. It is seen as the cornerstone of development because it forms the basis of literacy, skill acquisition, technological advancement, knowledge acquisition and ability to harness the natural resources of the environment. Ayara in antai and anam (2009) asserts that education creates better citizens and helps to upgrade the general standard of living in a society.
