ABSTRACT
This study investigated Art Education and Entrepreneurial Skills in youths Empowerment in Esan Land of Edo State, Nigeria. Four research questions relating to Art education and entrepreneurial skills in youths empowerment were formulated to guide the study. The study employed the descriptive research design. The population of the study consisted of two thousand, five hundred (2,500} youths between the ages of ten to thirty, drawn from Ubiaja and Uromi areas. The simple random sampling was adopted to select 500 youths. Three experts validated the instruments which were found reliable with an overall reliability coefficient of 0.88. Data collection was by means of questionnaire. The questionnaire was a self designed questionnaire titled “Art Education and Entrepreneurial Skills in Youths Empowerment” (AEESYE). Simple percentagees were used to analyze the research questions collected. Some findings were made which include: Entrepreneurial skills in Art Education can control massive rural-urban migrations of youths in Edo State. Youths who are not equipped for entrepreneurial skills are burden to the society. Entrepreneurial skills in Art Education have a place in youths empowerment. Arising from the findings, the researcher recommended the following: The state government, schools and individuals should emphasize entrepreneurial skills in art education in Edo State. Art Education programme should be designed to include activities that empower and satisfy the economic needs of the youths.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Entrepreneurship, which is the major thrust of this research work, is known as the capacity and attitude of a person or group of persons to undertake ventures with the probability of success or failure. It demands that the individual be prepared to assume a reasonable degree of risks, be a good leader in addition to being highly innovative. Since entrepreneurship has to do with leadership, leadership ability always determines the person’s level of effectiveness Itaman,(2011). According to Onwubiko, (2011), the personal and organizational effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of leadership and there could be no success in any entrepreneurship venture without genuine leadership.
In his own effort to define entrepreneurship Ekpeyong, (2010) sees entrepreneurship as the process of using creative and innovative ideas to create value by an individual, group or organization based on the opportunities and risks in the use of resources to start a venture; to modify or change the venture, concept and strategy in the expectation of profit. Nwaokolo, in Onyewen, (2013), defined entrepreneurship as the ability to set up a business enterprise as different from being employed. This ability should be acquired and should differ in some respects from the abilities
required to enable a person obtain an employment. It involves the acquisition of skills, ideas and managerial abilities necessary for self-reliance.
Objective of Entrepreneurship Education
Dana in Osuala in (Onyewen, 2013), presented six objectives of entrepreneurship education which are to:
a. Provide meaningful education for the youths which could make them self-reliant and subsequently encourage them to derive profit and be self- independent
b. Provide small and medium sized companies with the opportunities to recruit qualified graduates who will receive training and tutoring in the skills relevant to the management of the small business centre.
c. Provide graduates with enough skills in risk management to make uncertainty bearing possible and easy.
d. Provide graduates with the training in skills that will make them meet the man power needs in the society.
e. Stimulate industrial and economic growth of rural and less developed areas.
f. Provide graduates with enough training that will make them creative and innovative in identifying new business opportunities.
Skill is the ability to specialize in an occupation or trade and to do well in such occupation or trade. Art education is favored with so many skills that can empower the youths which can make them fit into the society.
These skills includes: Sculpture – modeling of statues for both outdoor and indoor decoration and carving of furniture and utilitarian items, Textile – weaving, designing and dyeing of fabric materials, Ceramics – production of glass, pots and breakable plates with the use of earthenware, Graphics – print-making, poster design, making of calendar and almanac, sign writing etc. Painting – picture enlargement, painting of landscape, seascape painting etc. Art education is a programme designed to make people become more creative in order to fit sufficiently into the world that is characterized with intellectual and practical works. It is the learning of more and more, and less and less of art creativity. Thus, it helps individuals to become useful to themselves and to the society
Empowerment means enabling someone to become all and everything he or she was meant to be. It means helping an individual develop self worth, self confidence, self reliance and independence in such a way as to live meaningfully and peacefully Maris, (2012). Youths empowerment therefore, is simply enabling youths to be able; that they live meaningfully and peacefully within the environment and the society they found themselves.
Osamede (2013), posited that the land now known as Edo State with Benin City as its capital has a long history of civilization. Historians and researchers traced its existence to as far back as pre-historic time. As a well organized unified-community, under a very formidable monarchial authority called Ogiso. With a verbal government machinery representing legislative,
executive and judiciary, with some form of checks and balances more of democratic in form. With the people called Igodomigodo (Benins) (Edo) as it inhabitants.
Similarly, Izoya, (2013), stated that Edo State was created in 1991 out of the former Bendel State. Edo state lies roughly between longitude 060
04’E and 060 43’E and Latitude 050 44’N and 070 34’N. It is bounded in the South by Delta State, in the West by Ondo State, in the North by Kogi State and in the East by Kogi and Anambra States.
Bendel State was one of the oldest political entities in Nigeria, having started out life as the Midwest Region (created by referendum, August 9,
1963; and excised from the then Western Region); it then became known as Midwest State, and then as Bendel state (a contraction of the phrase BEN and DEL). While the “Ben” stands for Benin, the “Del” stands for Delta. As time went on, the “federal character” provision for the sharing of federal revenue amongst the state in the federation was hampering the growth and development of the state. Federal employment and school admissions polices were also guided by quota system (to ensure even spread). As more states were created, from four (1963-1967) to 12 (1967-1976) to 19, and then to 21, Bendel State, by remaining intact, became disadvantaged in regards to access to federal revenue. Although the demand for the creation of the state did not come to fruition in the Second Republic, this demand led the Babangida regime to split the then Bendel State into two parts – one which had Edo – speaking majority (Edo State), and the other which had more heterogeneous mix of ethnic groups (Delta State). With the creation of Edo state, the dream of the Edo-speaking peoples and other groups in the territory for a separate identity and entity was finally fulfilled.
The main ethnic groups in Edo State are: Edo, Afemais, Esans, Owans and Akoko Edos. Virtually all the groups traced their origin to Benin City hence the dialects of the groups vary with their distance from Benin City. The Bini speaking people occupy seven out of the 18 Local Government Areas of the State and constitute 57.54% of the population while others Esan (17.14%) Afemai comprising of Etsako (12.19%) Owan (7.43%, and Akoko Edo (5.70%) (Izoya, 2013). However, the Igala-speaking communities exist in Esan South East, Igbira related communities in Akoko and Afemai Areas as well as Urhobos, Izons (Ijaws), Itsekiris and Yoruba communities in Ovia North East and South West Local Government Areas especially in the borderlands. There exist similarities among them in the areas of religious worships, folk-lore, dances, festivals, traditional modes of dressing, arts and crafts. This shows the state’s rich cultural heritage.
Segynola (2011), reported that the land mass of Edo State is about nineteen thousand, eight hundred and eleven (19,811) square kilometers with eighteen Local Government Areas. Edo State population as officially gazetted 2nd February, 2009, is three Million, two hundred and thirty three thousand, three hundred and sixty-six (3,233,366). Information Management
System (IMS- Database) Edo State Ministry of Finance 2011, reports that the workforce population of Edo state is thirty thousand, one hundred and twenty- one (30,121).
Edos having Art as one of their cultural heritage, create ground for empowerment and entrepreneurship skills among youths in Esan South East and Esan North East Local Government Areas. They were created out of the former Agbazilo Local Government Areas. This means that its youths were never idle in terms of entrepreneurship right from its origin. They engaged in one economic activity or the other and specialized on an entrepreneurial skills that can take care of their needs and those of the other people around them. The economic activity of the youths, range from farming, wood carving, bronze casting (goldsmithing), pottery, basket making, willow-cane furniture, cloth-weaving and mat making. Those who posses these skills were highly rated in the community. For this reason, many youths were interested in acquiring any of these specialized skills mentioned above. As a result of technological advancement, growth in population perhaps, and the discovery of oil in commercial quantity in 1958 in the Niger-Delta Areas of Nigeria of which Edo State is one; youths suddenly turned down their cultural heritage and their artistic skills and then began the search for white collar jobs. This had led to high population of youths not equipped with any serious entrepreneurial skills. The result of this is decline in the economic stability of youths in these areas. This could be the reason why in the first
two weeks of January 2011, most Nigerian news media had it as their major headlines, that the nation experienced civil demonstrations by citizens against their leaders, their economic policies and regulations on oil subsidy removal. Their agitations were centered on the measures taken by government to address the removal of oil subsidy. The Nigerian government at whatever level is facing difficulties to cope with economic responsibilities on one hand, and demand from citizens, by extension.
Furthermore, looking closely at the global economic climate also, it has become too cloudy perhaps, as a result of many youths without entrepreneurial skills. This could also be one of the reasons why between the period of the last two weeks of October, and the first two weeks of November, 2011, some international news media had it too as their major news headlines that many countries experienced some civil demonstrations by citizens against their leaders and their economic polices and regulations. Their agitations were centered on austerity measures taken by government to address the economic melt down. Some of these countries which included USA, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Australia. The demonstration started from Wall Street in Washington DC USA and spread to other countries.
Gradually, government at whatever level is facing difficulties to cope with their economic responsibilities and demands from citizens. Individuals also, are finding it tough to survive economically. This situation is even
more serious and severe among the youths especially those without employable skills and competences. This is where entrepreneurship skills becomes very relevant. It means therefore, that an individual be adequately empowered to attain self-reliance and self-employment skills through art education in order to be useful to himself, and the society. This competence by all standards would enable one to shoulder the responsibilities of some dependants.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
ART EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS IN YOUTHS EMPOWERMENT IN ESAN LAND OF EDO STATE NIGERIA
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