The co-operative institution will tell us that the co-operative institution is about people. It’s about a business.  It is in line with these assertion that various definitions of this subject have been postulated by some school of thoughts.  Whereas some scholars see co-operative or define co-operative as an association of person usually of limited means who have voluntarily joined together to achieve a common Economic goals through the formation of a democratically  controlled business organization, making equitable contribution to the capital required and accepting a fair share of the risk and benefits of the undertaking in which the members actively participate.

Other International Co-operative Alliance (I.C.A) compliments with the view that co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.

Furthermore, a co-operative society can be defined as an enterprise formed and directed by association of users applying within itself the rules of democracy and directly intended to save both its own members and the community as a whole.

Finally, according to (Bob-Igwe, 1993:15), he defined Co-operative as a voluntary, evolutionary democratic process resulting from initiative and enterprise at the “grassroots” by individuals motivated by the principle of self -help and mutual aid.