By Amos Tauna
The Vice Chancellor of the Kaduna State University, Professor Mohammad Tanko, has said that cooperative societies are the life wire of the economy of Nigeria if properly harnessed.
He observed that it is only in cooperative societies that one could be given loan the would his or her life, stressing that government should back the activities of cooperative societies with a law that will enhance the living standards of the people.
The vice Chancellor who spoke through Professor Set Akutson at the 1st Kaduna’s Cooperative Societies and Academia interaction held at the University with a theme ‘Advancing the frontiers of Cooperative Societies in Kaduna State’ said cooperatives should unite to compete toward building the country’s economy.
According to him, “Cooperatives should be studied in technical Schools. In Canada Nurses are the highest paid workers and Nursing profession started from nowhere in Nigeria. Cooperative should be studied up to degree level, hope we’ll have professors in cooperatives in Nigeria in the near future.
“Cooperative Societies should be giving proper attention because there is no bank that can give commiserate loan than cooperative societies give, that is why we we’ll always advocate for them to come together.
“Government should give impetus through the instrumentality of the court. I advised that Cooperative University should be established for degrees, Masters and PhD programmes should be run.”
The Commissioner for Ministry of Rural and Community development, Balaraba Aliyu Inuwa, said, “Government will always be there to provide an enabling environment for private initiatives to thrive.
“Cooperative Societies as a sector has a very important place in this government. It’s enormous potential for community and economic development’, El-Rufai’s administration has set in motion a mechanism that will review the operations of Cooperative Societies in Kaduna State.
“One of the immediate things required is to address the structural space for effective running and oversight of Cooperative Societies. The restructuring exercise resulted in the movement of the cooperatives department from the ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Rural and Community Development,” se explained.
She added, “The state Governor having considered a report of survey conducted by the Department for International Development (DFID) in Kaduna State on cooperative societies approved the recommendation for the creation of the Kaduna State Cooperative Societies Commissioning.
“The bill is aimed at addressing major structural issues in the development of Cooperative Societies in the State is currently receiving attention at the Kaduna State House of Assembly.”
