CO-OPerative Vision

CO-OPerative Vision Consulting and Promoting Cooperative Business Opportunities as the 21st century Business Model for sustainable growth,material and human development etc

πŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”Šβž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–*Happy International Day of Cooperatives to you.*  βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–This day deserves real celebration, not a blind ...
01/07/2026

πŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”ŠπŸ”Š
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*Happy International Day of Cooperatives to you.*
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This day deserves real celebration, not a blind jamboree led by opportunists who know little or nothing about cooperatives, yet parade as β€œCooperative Leaders.”

Cooperative is not about wearing uniforms, street parades, photo sessions, drinks, snacks,or dancing. Those are mere shadows. The substance is ignored when we chase appearances and lackadaisical attitudes.Some people are underestimating your intelligence, and taking you for granted!

Ask the hard questions:
*What achievements has your cooperative recorded?*
*What assets does your cooperative currently hold?*
*Is your group a cooperative in law and in practice, or just another gathering of people?*
*Is your cooperative improving members’ lives and contributing to the wider economy?*
The questions are many.

Step out of silence, manipulation, or self-imposed limits. Ask relevant questions.Cooperative members should attend trainings run by certified Cooperative Professionals. That is how you learn your rights, and what to expect from your unions, federations, state and national apexes, including other areas of cooperative operations.

Here is the truth: a fellow member, an exco, or a so-called β€œcooperative leader” cannot teach about Cooperatives - what they do not understand themselves.

That is why you and your cooperative need continuous, regular, and tailored professional cooperative training, as stipulated in the Cooperative Acts, delivered by certified cooperative experts.

We look forward to seeing you at the Mandatory Cooperative Professionals Training, (MCPT), organized by the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria, ICOPRON, in Abuja on July 16–17, 2026.

Take a few minutes to reflect on these issues.Then choose real cooperative knowledge, and refuse to be used by opportunists or people who are ignorant of the cooperative business model.

For enquiries, contact me on 08088899855. right

*NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED DIET MANDATORY CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL TRAINING ON COOPERATIVE*The Institute of Cooperative Profe...
29/06/2026

*NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED DIET MANDATORY CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL TRAINING ON COOPERATIVE*

The Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria (ICOPRON) wishes to inform all Cooperative stakeholders, professionals, leaders, managers, regulators and other interested participants that the rescheduled Special Diet of the MCPT will now be held as follows:

*New Date:*
Thursday 16th - Friday 17th July 2026.

*Venue:*
National Centre for Women Development (Opposite Central Bank of Nigeria), Abuja.

*Why the new date?*
The training programme has been rescheduled due to its closeness to International Cooperative Day celebrations, and to accommodate the growing number of participants who have indicated interest in attending.

Also featuring will be:
- Understanding housing/agricultural estate development: lessons for cooperative leaders.

*Payments should be made to:*
INSTITUTE OF COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF NIGERIA (ICOPRON), FCT CHAPTER,
ZENITH BANK,
1214762999.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause.Thank you so much.

Dr Dickson Okolo, ficp,
Registrar
Phone- 08033490507.

Target Audience:Cooperative professionals, practitioners, Regulators, policy makers, lecturers, and students. Others are...
25/05/2026

Target Audience:
Cooperative professionals, practitioners, Regulators, policy makers, lecturers, and students. Others are Cooperative societies, members,unions, and apexes.
The venue will be in Abuja FCT.

Payments should be made to:
INSTITUTE OF COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONALS OF NIGERIA (ICOPRON), FCT CHAPTER,
ZENITH BANK, 1214762999.

ENQUIRY:
Contact Mr. Efiok Ibanga, ficp,
+2348088899855,
Assistant Registrar (ICOPRON).

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–*COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONALS VS. NOVICES: GETTING IT RIGHT.*βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–It is surprising how some cooperative members pe...
23/05/2026

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*COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONALS VS. NOVICES: GETTING IT RIGHT.*
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It is surprising how some cooperative members perceive cooperative professionalsβ€”whether they work in ministries or independently.

It is shocking when a novice comes up with crude, and irrelevant ideas, seeing themselves as cooperative experts, who try to impose their personal ideas on a long - established profession and system that has stood the test of time.

How do you reconcile situations where ordinary cooperative members do not ask for technical knowledge about cooperatives, but instead ask for core professional and administrative information and materials, as if the cooperative professionals are their messengers or errand boys?

They say they want to build an app for cooperatives, and claim that they have fintech experts behind the project, and insist all they need from cooperative professionals are the state and national registers to connect to the app. What a disdainful, and an obvious act of effrontery!

It’s troubling how some people reason! They recognize fintech experts but deliberately refuse to recognize cooperative professionals in their own field and sector. There is a huge difference between an ordinary cooperative member and a cooperative professional. They are not the same.

A cooperative expert can also be a cooperative member, but a cooperative member cannot become a cooperative professional without meeting the rigorous academic and professional requirements that are part of the profession’s standards.

Most of the so-called β€œcooperative apps” do not actually address cooperative issues. They are mere Fintech apps dressed with cooperative labels,and handling payments, money transfers, thrifting, savings, and loans. Cooperative work is not just about contributing and transferring money through an app.Neither is cooperative a mini-bank. It is a wide field of study far beyond these narrow and generalized perceptions. Cooperatives practice can not be coded, but it must be studied as a discipline.

In fact, being a cooperative member does not make one knowledgeable enough to build an app for cooperatives. You need more β€”specialized cooperative knowledge.

The truth is, you must have studied cooperative studies as a course to truly translate its ideology, principles, standards, and practices, among others, into an effective app. This is not a job that belongs exclusively to fintech practitioners. Cooperative work is far more than a miniature app.

Imagine this: How can someone who is not a heart surgeon, and doesn’t have in-depth knowledge of how the human heart works design an app to successfully carry out heart surgery? You will agree that it would not work. It is the same with untrained cooperative members and fintech experts designing apps for cooperatives instead of for banks.

Unfortunately, unsuspecting cooperatives are falling prey to these deceits. The good news is that a group of cooperative experts who ventured into app development have successfully designed an effective, cooperative-driven app for cooperatives in Nigeria.

Even better, the app has been tested and approved by the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria (ICOPRON) for meeting the profession’s requirements. Therefore,it is important to think twice.



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Efiok Ibanga, ficp,is a writer, ghostwriter, digital marketing strategist, and a certified cooperative business development trainer/consultant, among others. He can be contacted on +2348088899855, or at [email protected]

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž– *COOPERATIVES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT*  βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–  Many cooperative leaders and members are not enterprising and do n...
27/04/2026

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*COOPERATIVES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT*
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Many cooperative leaders and members are not enterprising and do not look out for businesses that will benefit both the members and the cooperative daily.

Their focus is on big investments requiring large capital, which end up swallowing their money and rendering the cooperative bankrupt.That is why one can see many cooperatives with lands where their capital is tied down; the lands are not put to productive use, and abandoned buildings lie fallow because they cannot meet stringent conditions, among other challenges.

Of course, every member has his own personal idea of how to carry out or resolve a particular issue - that how they often think. For them, the opinions that attract the loudest ovation are regarded as right. None bother to check if the decisions taken and the procedures adopted are in agreement with cooperative practice and laws.

They will argue, fight, and go to court using members’ money, thereby holding the cooperative to ransom. The bottom line β€” gross ignorance of cooperativism. Cooperative trainings are mandatory, and the act has been the provision for it.

True entrepreneurs do not go into businesses blindly or rely only on assumptions. They learn and understand everything they want to do, and conversant with the laws regulating their operations, to mention a few.

What many members do not know is that every action to be taken in a cooperative is guided by laws. Therefore, personal ideas, opinions, preferences, and strange practices are not accepted under cooperative laws, regulations, and acts.

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Efiok Ibanga,ficp, is a writer, ghostwriter, digital marketing strategist, and a certified cooperative business development trainer/consultant, among others. He can be contacted on +2348088899855, or at [email protected].

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž– *ARE ONLINE PLATFORMS TRULY COOPERATIVE?* βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–Many people are confused about the role of online platforms i...
25/03/2026

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–
*ARE ONLINE PLATFORMS TRULY COOPERATIVE?*
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Many people are confused about the role of online platforms in Cooperative practice. This confusion stems from the sudden proliferation of these platforms in Nigeria, which some people claim have defrauded them.

Online platforms, especially in Nigeria, do not align with Cooperative ideology, practice, and principles, among others. Cooperative practice and online platforms are two different ideologies, even though the promoters of online platforms are hiding behind the context and pretense of using technology.

The fact is that Cooperative principles are not achievable under the online platform philosophy. For example, digital platforms lack transparency, have unclear decision-making processes, and deprive members of in-depth information, reports, and financial statements.

Besides, these online platforms that claim to be cooperatives restrict members' rights, limit and exclude members from voting and being voted for into management, and participating in running the Cooperative. These online platforms lack clear processes for members to address grievances, disputes, or challenge unfair decisions or arbitration, among many other aspects, especially considering that members are online and scattered globally.

Furthermore, these online platforms are established and dominated by companies, shareholders and individuals who profit from Cooperatives, which they regard as their subsidiaries or personal businesses, where they further exploit people's ignorance of cooperatives.

By doing so, they avoid the statutory inspection, monitoring, and auditing, among others functions, by Cooperative regulatory bodies. They deceive unsuspecting "members" by promising loans and other benefits.

There are reports and complaints that these online platforms in Nigeria that are defrauding people. Take this advice seriously: online ' Cooperative platforms' are operating unlawfully in Nigeria because they are not recognized in the Nigerian Cooperative Act, Laws, and Regulations. Therefore, Nigerians should be wise.

If online platforms must exist in Nigeria,they must act as true Cooperatives, governed and operate in accordance with Cooperative Acts, Regulations, and Principles, among others.Online platforms must be owned by members, not shareholders. Apart from having verifiable offices in the 6 geo-political zones and state capitals with addresses and phone numbers, their activities must also be linked digitally to the Cooperative regulatory bodies and to comply with other stringent conditions.

This will not only encourage healthy development, transparency, accountability, monitoring, and fair play; but promote an effective, more inclusive, and sustainable Cooperative sector in Nigeria.

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Efiok Ibanga,ficp,is a Ghostwriter, editor, content creator, digital marketing strategist, and a cooperative business trainer/consultant.
He can be contacted on +2348088899855.
[email protected]

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–*ICOPRON: THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONAL BODY AND A COOPERATIVE SOCIETY.*βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–It is bec...
20/03/2026

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–
*ICOPRON: THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A COOPERATIVE PROFESSIONAL BODY AND A COOPERATIVE SOCIETY.*
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It is becoming a herculean task and laughable issue when unqualified Cooperative Members ask us to make them Fellows of the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria (ICOPRON) without the required formalities.

It is a worrisome situation, I have close friends who feel "betrayed" accusing us of bluntly refusing to award them Fellowships of the body; as if we are sharing gifts to the masses! Many Cooperative members strongly believe that anything Cooperative is their entitlement!

They have shown their displeasure on many occasions about the criteria being used to exclude them from the Institute's "Hall of Fame" (as they wrongly assume) - for having served their Cooperatives for a number of years! The reason is simple: they are used to hijacking the leadership of their Cooperatives, and feel they have the right to have their way in the Institute, which consists of Cooperative intellectuals like professionals, regulators, practitioners, policy-makers, and lecturers in higher institutions of learning, among others. How possible could that be? Besides, what legal and moral rights would people have to seek recognition in a body of which they are not bona fide members?

What is surprising is that these members have not only labeled the Institute and its members with all sorts of unprintable names over the years but have also engaged in campaigns of calumny against the body. Now they are asking to be made Fellows, let alone members of the Institute, without the necessary requisite academic qualifications!

There are broad differences between a Cooperative professional body and a Cooperative Society. A Cooperative Society is open to membership based on common needs and to achieve economic benefits, while a professional body is an organization of experts in a specific field of study and body of knowledge, example for certified doctors, accountants, lawyers, and so on. In addition, Professional bodies are focused on setting standards of practice, training, certification, research, and promoting the profession's interests, among others.

As a matter of fact, ICOPRON is a formal entity and a professional body for those who have studied Cooperative, Economics, and Management (CEM) at Certificate, Diploma, HND/BSc, PGD, Masters, and PhD levels. It is similar to ICAN, STAN, and COREN. ICOPRON has been in existence since 1988, with national officers, zonal coordinators, state chapters, and its own rules, processes, leadership, committees, examinations, conferences, journals, and status, to mention a few. The status levels - student, graduate, associate, senior, and Fellow - are based on academic qualifications, knowledge, and experience.Moreover, it does not depend on ones membership, years, or leadership position occupied in a Cooperative Period! Therefore, Cooperative members should seek for true Cooperative Education to improve their knowledge base, rather than make a mockery of themselves. Knowledge is power.

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Efiok Ibanga, ficp,is a Ghostwriter, writer, content creator, digital marketing strategist, and a Cooperative Business Trainer/Consultant, among others.
He can be contacted on +2348088899855,
[email protected].

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–*SOME UNHEALTHY ATTITUDES OF COOPERATIVE MEMBERS.*βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–Many Cooperative members do not actually understand what...
18/03/2026

βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–βž–
*SOME UNHEALTHY ATTITUDES OF COOPERATIVE MEMBERS.*
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Many Cooperative members do not actually understand what they are part of. Most of them claim to be running a Cooperative, but what they are practicing are simply contributory schemes. By all indications, they are truly contributory groups masquerading as Cooperatives. This is why one can find all sorts of wrong, conflicting, and contradicting practices in their fold. It is often fueled, imposed, and perpetuated by individuals driven by greed, domineering attitudes, and ignorance of Cooperative ideology and practice, aiming to blindfold other members.

How can ignorant Cooperative members in state Cooperative Federations and National apexes, among others, shamelessly attempt to make Cooperative laws and regulations when Cooperative experts are available? This meddling and clandestine attitude is like ignorant young people refusing apprenticeship and formal academic training in their chosen career, yet pushing themselves to be on the Ministry of Education's committee for drafting a school curriculum or syllabus. Is this proper and sensible?

This attitude and madness have driven some individuals posing as "Cooperative activists and leaders" to prevent Cooperative regulatory bodies from regulating and monitoring their dubious operations. They deceive unsuspecting and ignorant members into thinking they are protecting their interests while exploiting them!

Cooperative members should put their societies in order by learning from Cooperative experts, asking questions, and doing the right things, rather than criticizing Cooperatives and trying to usurp the technical and specialized roles of Cooperative professionals. The fact remains: it's impossible to overwhelm or push away experts from any profession and industry.

If most Cooperative members knew their stuff, rights, responsibilities, and understood Cooperative practice, laws, and principles (as they claim), why can they not address governance, accountability, and tenure issues of their Cooperative officials, both in societies and federations, among others, where some exco members have overstayed their stipulated tenures? Here, they are not only ignorant, mute, and indifferent, but they are completely helpless!

Instead of solving their internal problems, they are rather acting as puppets to their "leaders".These fraudster get most ignorant members cheaply by promising loans and grants from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks. Funnily, these members know little or nothing about Cooperatives – nor do they understand the differences between Cooperatives and contributory groups.

The simplest trap to capture ignorant Cooperative members is promising them loans (which they often assume are donations). They will sacrifice their minds, body, and soul instantly!What ignorance!

How will they know their rights, powers, and what to do when they avoid compulsory Cooperative training? Do not be surprised they may even be drafting a new Cooperative Act for Cooperative experts, sector, and Nigerians! We haven't heard of ignorant patients diagnosing, directing, and prescribing treatments to medical practitioners for their chronic illnesses in hospitals.

This is a serious issue in the Cooperative sector that must be addressed. The government at all levels, including federal/state directors of Cooperative, must support the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria (ICOPRON) in their efforts,and to highlight the defined roles of the various stakeholders. In addition,cooperative members must attend compulsory Cooperative training continuously and regularly to run their societies efficiently and eliminate executive excesses,to mention a few.
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*Efiok Ibanga,ficp, is a Ghost-writer, writer, content creator, digital marketing strategist, and a Cooperative Business Trainer / Consultant, among others. He can be contacted on 08088899855.

COOPERATIVE ARBITRATION.The gross ignorance of cooperative practice is alarming, cutting across a wide range of people a...
22/01/2026

COOPERATIVE ARBITRATION.

The gross ignorance of cooperative practice is alarming, cutting across a wide range of people and professionals - lawyers, accountants, and bankers, among others. It was indeed a funny and unbelievable situation: a lawyer ordered me to give him my professional books - cooperative textbooks, journals, acts, laws, and documents - for him to go through; and that I should also guide him to enable him defend his client - a cooperative society - in court. He repeated his request with authority and a high sense of entitlement.

Composed and well- articulated, I asked him if it was the same manner I had requested his professional books and textbooks. I asked him why he thought his profession should be recognized, protected, and respected, and mine should be different. I reminded him that he was not trained in cooperative legislation and practice.

Shocked, he looked at me sheepishly, then smiled and responded calmly: "Oga, man must survive in this country... I'm hustling". I asked him about the implications of his hustles on the lives of innocent cooperative members who engage lawyers ignorantly on issues related to cooperative arbitration. He then questioned me tactfully: "Sir, are you saying that whenever I'm offered a job by a cooperative, I should turn it down?"

I sensed his reluctance in his tone. "You should tell cooperative members the truth, that it's not your field of study, and as such, you can't handle it," I answered him with confidence. He shook his head in shame. "This is a technical field of study and a career. It's not for every Tom, Dick, and Harry."

Then I advised him that if he was interested in the cooperative profession, he should first study Cooperative, Economics, and Management (CEM), and then register with the Institute of Cooperative Professionals of Nigeria (ICOPRON) to write exams and attend continuous trainings, grow through various statuses, to enable him qualify to arbitrate on cooperative cases.

Thereafter, guess what happened? We became good friends, and he directs cooperatives to me for their professional services!

There are more to cooperatives than being a group of people.



-Efiok Ibanga, FICP, is a ghostwriter, Editor, content strategist; and a certified and seasoned Cooperative Devt. Trainer/Consultant. +2348088899855.

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Jacverson Integrated Services Limited
Abuja
ABUJAFCT

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