In Nigeria today the rate of joblessness
is on the increase; because of lack of provision of jobs by the federal
government of Nigeria. Entrepreneurship programmes have really tried recently
to encourage undergraduate to cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurship while
still in school.

The
essence of the introduction of the entrepreneurship programmes in most tertiary
institutions is to give the undergraduate the necessary knowledge background of
the importance of being an entrepreneur.

According
to (baudear, 1910); he defined entrepreneurship as an innovative management. Cantillion
(1965) described it as self-employment accompanied with uncertainty in returns;
Kao (1993) extended the definition to include the process of wealth and value
creation. There are so many definition as regard the research topic; according
to Schumpeter (1934) he  considered the
entrepreneur to be an innovator who carried out new combinations; say (1964)
and Knight, (1921) were of the view that he was an extraordinary manager with
Say considering him a highly talented manager and Knight described him as a
managerial risk-taker.

Marshal
(1964) drew a distinction between an entrepreneur and a manager. In more recent
times Drucker (1985) called him an opportunity maximizer. Recent literature on
the entrepreneur can be grouped into the descriptive and the prescriptive
approaches, the traits model and the social development model. Under the
descriptive approach, an entrepreneur is defined by describing the
characteristics or attributes that he possess. Some of the attributes in the
literature include the internal locus of control Rotter (1966), a high need for
achievement McClelland (1961); Brockhaus, (1980), Clayton (1981) and possession
of vision and a sense of mission (Silver, 1986, 1988). Flexibility, imagination
and a willingness to take risks were added to the growing list of attribute by
Stevenson and Gumpert (1985) form their study. A total of eleven common
characteristics were identified in independent studies by Baumback (1981),
Welsh and Young (1984), and Welsh and White (1983): namely: good health,
realism, superior conceptual ability, self confidence, a need to control or
direct (internal locus of control), attraction to challenges, sufficient
emotional stability, self – control, initiative, balance and control and
enterprises (self –reliant attitude supported by confidence in one’s ability to
take risks). Sexton and Bowman (1985) study showed the entrepreneur to be
tolerant of ambiguity, preferring autonomy, aloof, enjoying risk – taking,
resists conformity and readily adapting to changes. Another recent study found
entrepreneurs starting larger firms tend to have more education, more management
experience and objectives that were more entrepreneurial in nature ( cooper, A.
C. et al, 1989). Yee (1992) study supported the risk- taking attitude first
presented by earlier studies an entrepreneur is an incubator of novel ideas who
is distinguished from the run- of-mill small business sense, innovativeness and
the willingness to take risks.