Introduction on how the government controls/ regulate business

It is difficult to see which government in the
entire free world has left businesses free. The much talked about free markets
are not as free as they would have us believe. Many aver that government has no
business being in business, this may be true. But still there is no government
in the world that does not influence business

or is not involved in business;
hence we can talk of the so called special business meant to provide social
amenities for the welfare of society

While government may not be in every business
because of the waste and distractions it usually brings, government cannot but
control and regulate the ways and processes of doing business at least within
its geographical boarders. It does this as a matter of responsibility to the
citizens that it governs. It has been adduced that economic forces shapes
demand and supply of goods and services, yes, but the economic questions of
what to produce, how to produce, when to produce and for whom to produce are
largely dictated by government in line with its economic systems, Policies and
the direction which it wants its people to go.
Even at the level of international trade, countries
do go into alliance, understanding and enter into treaties on trade and such
salient matters as trade restrictions and tariff regimes are agreed upon by
heads of government. Thus control processes are put in place. How much of
another country’s products should be allowed into ones country, at what time
and rate, what quantities and what prices are usually determined and controlled
using guidelines and sometimes legislations before signing of any agreements on
trade/business especially those involving expatriate firms that want to
accomplish special projects. So in business nothing is free, and even in
Freetown where things are expected to the free, nothing is actually free. The
control function is therefore a prerogative of government and it sets
constrains and boundaries within which business should be done if any
organization (domestic and foreign) wants to do business. This chapter is
therefore designed to espouse to our minds the why, ways and how a government
as an agent of the state exercises control over business transaction within the
context of societal expectation and protection
The quest for economic independences after the
political independence on 1960 gave rise to several attempts by government to
redress and res6tructure the Nigeria economy to reflect a truly independent
country by attempting to put the means of production in the hands of the people
of Nigeria
It is perhaps this policy direction that gave
impetus to the several attempt to make legislation to transfer identified
portions of industries to Nigerian control in the early and mid 1970s

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