APPLICATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN SUSTAINING COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION Information is not only the basic of human existence. It is also the life wire for running of any organization. This is consequent upon the fact that decisions are based on information for effective decision-making and effective execution of those decisions, there must be constant information flow. Data gathered must be transmitted to the end –users after it had been processed.  Information receipt processing, storage, dissemination, etc. may be instant; otherwise valuable business opportunities might be lost.  That is what Information Technology (IT) seeks to do in cooperative society.
The old-talking drums, gongs, etc. were also used to send out information. In emergency situations, a section of the forest could be set on fire to warn people of impending or sudden enemy attack. All those various means of receiving, storing and sending information in the ancient times have been replaced by the vast array of machines in the modern world. This is what is called information technology, which refers to a host of equipment and materials, essentially computer-based that are used in the modern world for information receipt, processing, storage and dissemination.
The modern age is aptly called the age of machines or the machine age. This is true in the light of the numberless communication gadgets and information equipment that have flooded the market. But the greatest of this revolution is the computer, which has now revolutionized the modern business world.