CHAPTER THREE

STUDY AREA AND RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 The Study Area

The study was carried out in Enugu State, Nigeria. Enugu State occupies a surface area

of about 800 Sq Km within the West African tropical rainforest region between Latitudes 5°55'

and 7°10' North and 6°50' and 7°55' East. It is bounded in the East by Ebonyi State, in the West

by Anambra State, in the North by Kogi and Benue States and in the South by Abia State. The

state has 17 federally recognized Local government areas (LGAs). The 17 Local Government

Areas in Enugu State are: Aninri, Awgu, Enugu East, Enugu North, Enugu South, Ezeagu, Igbo

Etiti, Igbo Eze North, Igbo Eze South, Isi Uzo, Nkanu East, Nkanu West, Nsukka, Oji River,

Udenu, Udi & Uzo Uwani. An additional 39 LGAs were created in 2003, but have not yet been

constitutionally recognized and so remain development centres (CLEEN Foundation: http://

www.cleen.org ).

3.1.2 Historical Development

Enugu State was created on August 27, 1991 with the city of Enugu (Coal City) as its

capital. The state derives its name from the capital city which was established in 1912 as a small

coal mining town, but later grew to become the capital of the former Eastern Region of Nigeria

(Ministry of Information, 1992). In 1967, when the Gowon administration created twelve states

in Nigeria, Enugu remained the capital of the East Central State of Nigeria, one of the three

states carved out of the former Eastern Region. Nine years later, two states, Anambra and Imo,

were carved out of the East Central State and Enugu continued to serve as the capital of
Anambra state. The administrative hinterland of the city became much smaller in 1991 when

Anambra State was further split to form Enugu State and the new Anambra State. In 1996, the

Abakaliki area, one of the three political and administrative divisions of Enugu State, was carved

out and added to a part of Abia State to make up Ebonyi State, which was created in that year

along with five others. Today, Enugu State covers a much reduced territory compared to its size

in 1991 when it was initially created. The town of Enugu, where coal is found in commercial

quantity, is euphemistically referred to as the "coal city." The immediate fortunes of the state

appear to be tied, among other things, with the rehabilitation of the coal industry, and citizens of

the state take delight in being associated with the pseudonym of "the coal city state." Indeed, the

shooting of Nigerian coal miners in Enugu in 1949, by military officers of the British colonial

administration, contributed very much as a catalyst in changing the political history of the

country towards the granting of Independence (CLEEN Foundation: http:// www.cleen.org)

3.1.3 Population Structure and Distribution

Enugu State has a population of 2,101,016 (992,104 males and 1,108,912 females) within

a total area of 7,618 sq. km. This gives a population density of about 268 persons per sq. km.,

which is high when compared with the average national density of about 96 persons per sq. km.

Expectedly, population concentration is highest in the urban centres, with densities ranging

between 300 and 600 per sq.km. In a state where the great majority of the people are rural,

densities affect the intensity of land use and productivity of the land. Four population density

regions are recognised. Areas with over 600 persons per sq. km and between 400 to 600 persons

per sq. km. make up the congested rural districts. Farmland is scarce in these two density areas.

The medium density areas support between 200 and 400 persons per sq. km, while the sparsely

settled areas have an average density of less than 200 persons per sq. km. The sparsely settled
LGAs are Uzo-Uwani and Oji-River, while the congested rural areas are lgbo-Eze, lgbo-Etiti,

Nsukka (rural) and Enugu (rural).

3.1.4 Economy

Economically, the state is predominantly rural and agrarian, with a substantial proportion

of its working population engaged in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are

also important. In the urban areas trading is the dominant occupation, followed by services. A

small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities, with the most

pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka. (CLEEN Foundation:

http:// www.cleen.org)

3.1.5 Weather/Climate

The state is located in a tropical rain forest zone which means that it has a tropical

savanna climate. The climate is humid and this humidity is at its highest between March and

November. For the whole of Enugu State the mean daily temperature is 26.7 °C (80.1 °F). As in

the rest of West Africa, the rainy season and dry season are the only weather periods that recurs

in the state.

The average annual rainfall in the state is around 2,000 millimeters (79in), which arrives

intermittently and becomes very heavy during the rainy season. Other weather conditions

affecting the state include Harmattan, a dusty trade wind lasting a few weeks of December and

January. Like the rest of Nigeria, the state is hot all year round.

3.1.6 Education
 Every community in Enugu State has at least one Primary/Elementary school and one

Secondary school, funded and run by State Government. There are also large numbers of private

nursery, primary and secondary schools in Enugu State. Nigeria's First Indigenous University,

University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), is located in Enugu State. The state also hosts the Enugu

State University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology

(IMT), Enugu State College of Education Technical, Enugu, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike,

Renaissance University, Ugbawka; Federal Government College Enugu, Federal School of

Dental Technology & Therapy College of Immaculate Conception, Enugu; Queen’s School

Enugu a Preeminent high school for girls in the Eastern region; Special Science Boys' Secondary

School Agbani, Nkanu West St. Patrick's Secondary School, Emene; Bigard Memorial

Seminary, Enugu; Awgu County College, Nenwe; Community Secondary School, Ugbo; Corpus

Christi College, Achi; Our Saviour Institute of Science and Technology, Enugu; and the Federal

College of Education, Eha-Amufu; Seat of Wisdom Secondary School Trans Ekulu, Enugu.

There are also a host of private computer schools and training centre’s concentrated in Enugu

and Nsukka. The University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) is located in Enugu State, as

is the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital and College of Medicine. In addition to

numerous private hospitals and clinics in the State, there are seven District Hospitals at Enugu

Urban, Udi, Agbani, Awgu, Ikem, Enugu-Ezike, and Nsukka and at least one Education center or

cottage hospital in every one of the seventeen (17) Local Government Areas and thirty nine (39)

Development Centres in the State. (CLEEN Foundation: http:// www.cleen.org)

3.1.7 Administrative Structure

At the helm of affairs in the state is the executive Governor, assisted by the Deputy

Governor. Other components of the State Executive Council are Commissioners and the
Secretary to the state government. The Governor is also assisted by a number of Special Advisers

and Special Assistants. The state legislature, the law making body, is headed by the Speaker. He

is assisted by the Clerk of the House in the general administration of the Assembly. The

seventeen local government areas are each headed by an Executive Chairman, assisted by a

Deputy Chairman and several supervisory councilors. Each Local government has a quasi-

legislative arm composed of councilors who represent the various wards. Some communities are

governed by a system of gerontocracy in which a council of elders forms the government. One of

the members, usually the oldest, is designated the Community Head, or Chief, or Traditional

Ruler. He works with a cabinet of executive and ordinary members who represent their

respective villages. Other communities select their chiefs or traditional rulers in accordance with

their written constitution. In all cases, each community has a town union (also known as

Community Development Association) headed by a President. The President works with a team

of assisting executive members chosen through a popular election. Town Unions spearhead

development activities and ensure that the state government's new programmes are implemented.

At the head of the traditional political system is the first son ("Okpala").

He holds the symbol of political and religious authority called "Ofo." In some parts of the

state, however, the age grade system of government is used, and in many others, traditional

government is by titled societies (Nze na Ozo). Generally, these forms of government make use

of masquerade societies to execute decisions (CLEEN Foundation: http:// www.cleen.org)

3.1.8 Administrative Areas

There are seventeen local government areas (LGAs) in the state. Each has a chairman as

its administrative head. Local Government Areas are: Aninri, Awgu, Enugu East, Enugu North,
Enugu South, Ezeagu, Igbo-Etiti, Igbo-Eze North, Igbo-Eze South, Isi-Uzo, Nkanu East, Nkanu

West, Nsukka, Oji River, Udenu, Udi, and Uzo Uwani LGAs

3.1.9 Original Inhabitants and Settlers

Since the seventeenth century, the location of present-day Enugu has been inhabited by

the Nike subgroup of the Igbo people. The state derives its name from Enugu, its capital city,

which was an important coal mining centre during the colonial period and the 1960s. The word

’Enugu’ (from Enu Ugwu) means ‘the top of the hill,’ a nod to the hilly topography of the area.

3.2 Research Methodology

This section covers the methods used to address the objectives of the study. The section

discusses the research design, source of data, the instrument for data collection, method of data

collection and method of data analysis.

Research Design

A research design is a plan that guides the investigator/researcher in the process of

collecting, analyzing and interpreting observations. It is a logical model of proof that allows the

researcher to draw inferences concerning causal relations among the variables under

investigation. It also defines the domain of generalizability, that is, whether the obtained

interpretations can be generalized to a larger population or to different situations (Leege &

Francis, 1974; Bailey, 1978:191; Nnabugwu, 2006:100).

The researcher used Stratified sampling and Purposive sampling to select the respondents of

this study. The choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its

advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a selected group of individuals.

 The type of research design adopted in this research work is the survey design. Survey

represents one of the most common types of quantitative, social science research. In a survey

research, the researcher selects a sample of respondents through Stratified sampling and

Purposive sampling from a population and administers a standardized questionnaire on them.

The questionnaire is a written document that is completed by the person being surveyed.

The population of this research work comprises of all registered SMEs in Enugu State.

3.2.3 Population of the study

Population of a research project study refers to the entire group or set of individuals,

items, or elements that the researcher is interested in studying or making inferences about. The

population is the larger entity from which a sample is drawn.

3.2.4 Sample Size of the Study

The entire population of registered small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in Enugu

State is very much and almost impossible to reach and to be studied; hence a portion of the

population will be taken to represent the population to make it practically feasible for the

research to be conducted and the findings to be analyzed. To this end, the case study used in this

research work is some selected SMEs in the Urban Areas of Enugu State and the sample size is

120 SME owners, drawn randomly through stratified and purposive sampling to include small

and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of tailoring, photography, wine shops, travel

agencies, automobile workshops, bakeries, hair dressing salon, building material stores,

pharmacies, telephone/handset sellers, local grocery stores and restaurants.

The sample size adopted for the study is 120 SME owners in the Urban Areas of Enugu State.
3.2.5 Ethical Consideration

Here are some specific points that the researcher considered when conducting the study:

1. The researcher did seek for the permission of the respondents to participate in the study.

2. The researcher did ensure utmost confidentiality of the responses of the respondents.

3. The researcher did not use force or coercion on the respondents to take part in the study.

4. The researcher did encourage the respondents to respond freely.

3.2.6 Sampling Technique

The researcher used stratified sampling and purposive sampling to select the respondents

of this study. Stratified random sampling is a sampling method whereby the population is

divided into groups, called ‘strata’. Each group is selected randomly. The researcher first divides

the population into groups based on a relevant characteristic and then selects participants within

those groups. Stratified random sampling is used by the researcher to ensure that specific

subgroups of people are adequately represented within the sample.

Purposive sampling, it could also be referred to as judgmental sample. This is a non-

probability sample that is selected based on the knowledge of a population and the purpose of the

study. The subjects are selected because of some characteristics. In purposive sampling, the

researcher uses their expert judgment to select participants that are representative of the

population.

Sources and method of data collection

Data for the study shall be generated from two main sources as discussed below
Primary Sources

For firsthand information that is considered authentic, a questionnaire shall be deployed to

elicit the needed data from our respondents. Because data collection is a very crucial activity, the

questionnaires shall be delivered to the respondents and collected by the researcher. A method

of hand delivery and collection on the same day shall be tried but where it is not possible, the

method of hand delivery and collection on the following day may be considered.

Secondary Sources

The second strand of data used is the data generated via the secondary sources. These data

are those second hand or already made information found in journal publications, text books,

magazines, Newspapers, online publications on the internet and many scholarly unpublished

works such as dissertations and projects that have been concluded but are unpublished including

monographs. Therefore, relevant data from this category of sources shall also be utilized for the

success of this work.

3.2.5 Validity of instruments

To ensure validity of the instrument, the researcher gave a draft of the questionnaire to the

supervisor and two (2) experts in the field of Public Administration. The two experts alongside

the supervisor made valuable inputs on the contents and structure of the questionnaire. These

inputs were infused into the final copy that was processed and administered to the respondents.

3.2.8 Method of data analysis

A five (5) point Likert scale system of Strong Agreed (SA) =5, Agree (A) = 4, Undecided

(U) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2, and Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1. The criterion value was determined

by summing up the scale and divided by the number of scale thus; = = 3.0
 However, for comprehensive interpretation and analysis of data collected from the field,

the researcher made use of statistical tables through the adoption of simple percentage and

frequency distribution table with the formula:

F= Frequency

N=No of respondent

Mean statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses. The decision rule for the mean is 3.0

and above for acceptance and 0 to 2.9 for rejection of the hypothesis.

Mean= _

X = ∑FX

F= Frequency

X=Individual observation

N= Total no of observation

∑FX = Total no of individual observation