Arts and Crafts as Veritable Sources of Economic Empowerment for Marginalized People in Nigeria (Published)
Man is an imaginary individual created by God in classical economic milieus and he is conceived of as behaving rationally, regularly and predictably in his economic activities with motives that are egoistic, acquisitive and short-term in outlook. From the beginning man was endowed by God with skills to adapt from objects in the natural world for his social, economic, political and material needs. Therefore, working for survival and meeting immediate needs are natural phenomena in human existence. Despite the natural endowment of God some people are still perceived by the human society as lacking desirable traits or deviating from the societal norms and therefore they tend to be excluded by the wider society in the scheme of things and they are ostracized or marginalized as undesirable. These marginalized people who are not self-sufficient become, at a minimum, burden to their immediate milieus, family members, friends and the society, at large. They lose their self confidence because they cannot be fully self supporting. The opportunities denied them also deprive them of many developmental projects that others, with greater opportunities, have accomplished over the years. This has, however, given many of such under privilege individuals psychological, social and even mental health problems. Economic empowerment through arts and crafts is the only means available for these marginalized people to obtain the basic human needs, either directly by themselves, or through the assistance of those who have access to funds that can be used to encourage and develop their skills for self sufficiency.
Keywords: Arts and Crafts, Economic, Economic Empowerment, Marginalized People, Milieus, Self Sufficiency