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Iron-impregnated filter paper (Fe-Pi) was evaluated as phosphorus (P) extractant in four soils of Ogun state, southwest Nigeria in a screenhouse experiment. The experiments lasted for 8 weeks. Soil P contents were extracted at 0, 4, and 8 weeks after the incorporation of amendments (cattle manure, poultry manure, and wood ash) using Fe-Pi, Bray-1, Bray-2, Mehlich-1, Hunter, and Olsen extractant. Agronomic variables were taken fortnightly from grown maize plants and later harvested at 8 weeks, residual effects of the treatments were also evaluated. Maize dry matter weight (DMW) and P uptake were also measured. Results indicated that a linear relationship existed among the extractants with significant coefficient at p ≤.001. Fe-Pi established a strong relationship with the conventional extractants in the following order: Bray-1 (R2 = 0.99) > Bray-2 (R2 = 0.98) > Hunter (R2 = 0.96) > Mehlich-1 (R2 = 0.86) > Olsen (R2 = 0.82). Fe-Pi had a significant relationship with P uptake and DMW. Phosphorus uptakes under the animal manure amendments were statistically higher than uptake in control and woodash amended soils. Therefore, the study concluded that Fe-Pi was a good predictor of plant available P and had significant relationship with Bray-1, thus it could be considered for the estimation of soil available P in soils of southwest Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social workers, especially in the Global North/developed countries such as the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, have been actively involved in implementing social programs to improve the psychosocial, health, and wellbeing of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is not the case in the Global South/developing countries like Nigeria, Ghana, etc. This concept paper aims to describe the current state of Nigerian social workers' role in developing and implementing social programs for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify action plans for further strengthening their involvement. We systematically reviewed the literature to identify Nigerian social workers' role in developing and implementing social programs for older adults during COVID-19. Our review reflected that social workers are rarely involved in developing and implementing social programs; when involved, their involvement is on a consultation basis, which limits their active involvement in multidisciplinary team of COVID-19 prevention and vaccination ad hoc committees in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novelty claims in carbon forestry often obscure the complex histories and the colonial entanglements of carbon forest socioecologies. This paper argues that the conditions of possibility of carbon forestry in ‘Nigeria’s last rainforest’ are tightly linked to the uneven colonial production of forests across Southern Nigeria. Drawing on archival research, ethnographic fieldwork and analysis of program documents and academic literature, the paper unsettles claims of novelty in Nigeria’s carbon forestry by demonstrating the material continuity between colonial forestry and carbon forestry. Focusing on the development of colonial forestry in Southern Nigeria under British colonial rule, the paper traces the coloniality of scientific forestry as a form of environmental rule, and its entanglements with imperial capitalism and presumptions of racial hierarchy. If the success of scientific forestry in Southern Nigeria meant the draining of Nigeria’s forests as timber export, its failure in Cross River paradoxically produced ‘Nigeria’s last rainforest,’ a literal ‘colonial residue’ . In colonial forestry, as in contemporary carbon forestry, a reductionist knowledge of forests, capitalist interests and a racialized global division of labor all interact in consequential ways. The paper concludes that decolonizing Nigeria’s forestry is a precondition for saving its ‘last rainforest.’ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education-UK and British private schools more specifically are often framed as a global brand of 'world-class' quality. However, the increased competition within the international education market has meant British private schools cannot rest on their laurels but instead must continue to project their 'world-classness' in a way that does not diminish their brand image. Drawing on interviews of parents and key gatekeepers, this paper examines how British private schools in Nigeria (BPS-NIG) and British private boarding schools in the UK (BPBS-UK) evoked and projected their supposed world-classness through the strategic use of white symbolism and the expensive admission process. The paper contends that the latter are types of soft-sell marketing techniques utilised by BPS-NIG and BPBS-UK to sell British schools without imperilling their brand image. The paper concludes by drawing attention to the racial implication of framing whiteness and white British specifically as synonymous with high-quality, 'world-class' education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the panic-buying of COVID-19 vaccines by wealthy countries for their citizens, otherwise known as 'vaccine nationalism', and the quest to develop local capacity for the production of vaccines in Nigeria. The paper argues that in the light of the global race, and attempts by countries to urgently secure the COVID-19 vaccines for their citizens, it behoves on the government of Nigeria to invest in the health security of its citizens and put aside the over-dependency on charity and goodwill of Western countries at every turn. The paper concludes that vaccine nationalism can spur the development of home-grown capabilities not just for vaccine against COVID-19 but vaccines and other novel therapeutic or prophylactic products for the prevention and treatment of endemic and emerging disease. This will in turn create jobs, improve healthcare delivery, curb medical tourism and stem the tide of migration of health professionals. The methodology is descriptive in approach, relying on personal observation and data gleaned from journals, magazines and Newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the various labels ascribed to males in the heterosexual discourse among female undergraduates in Nigeria. Insights from Community of Practice and Sexual Script Theory were used to demonstrate the use of situated linguistic choices to establish the differentials in male sexual behaviours. Data for the study were generated through participant observation and unstructured interviews with the aid of audiotape recordings and field notes. The study involves a representative sample of 22 female undergraduates who served as participants and research assistants. The findings reveal that situated language practices stimulate heterosexual discourses where female undergraduates creatively ascribe labels to the different males' sexual scripts. The labels include those related to male sexual performance, body size and size of sex organs, financial and marital status, familial and gatekeeping roles, and other routine sexual behaviours shown by men in sexual phases such as advances, arousal and intercourse. The scripts are also combined to re-enact the peculiar sexual narratives by the female students that show emerging sexual orientations. It is believed that the categorisation of such males' sexual behaviours in the University social contexts, would provide a basis for comparison with the sexual practices of other young adults' social groups across the globe. The paper discusses the various strands of sexual scripts shown by men in their heterosexual relationships with female undergraduates in a Nigerian University. The students ascribed labels based on the sexual performance, economic and marital status, and other routine behaviours that have an impact on the male sexual lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates traditional textile weaving among the people of Ologbin-Adewole in Ilorin, Nigeria. This traditional craft is one of the ancient crafts that gave Ologbin-Adewole recognition among other communities in Ilorin. Over the years, this indigenous thriving industry has dwindled both in production and skilled workers. The decline has been partly associated with the influence of westernization through the importation of European goods. This paper presents processes of textile production in Ologbin-Adewole as well as examines changes in the craft over time based on oral history and ethnographic records. This is aimed at documenting this important African art and preventing it from becoming a part of Africa's past. The paper concludes by bringing to limelight the significance of this indigenous craft of textile weaving among the people of Ologbin-Adewole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the chemical and microbiological quality of effluent collected from two important industries in Nigeria, the Nigerian Fertilizer company and Star Paper Mill. Growth of representative organisms in the fertilizer factory effluent; Nitrate utilization assay results.

While the post-9/11 event has animated how state actors frame terrorism, contemporary studies have failed to address the politics inherent in proscribing, repressing, and labeling separatist movements as terrorists. This paper explores the politics of framing terrorism using the contemporary self-determination struggles advanced by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Yoruba Nation's freedom frontiers. The study proposes a United Nations-coordinated global framework for regulating and evaluating states' activities in identifying specific groups as terrorists. Taking such a stance would prevent aggrieved agitators from being persecuted by the state in the name of terror. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main concern of this paper is providing a flexible discrete model that captures every kind of dispersion (equi-, over- and under-dispersion). Based on the balanced discretization method, a new discrete version of Burr–Hatke distribution is introduced with the partial moment-preserving property. Some statistical properties of the new distribution are introduced, and the applicability of proposed model is evaluated by considering counting series. A new integer-valued autoregressive (INAR) process based on the mixing Pegram and binomial thinning operators with discrete Burr–Hatke innovations is introduced, which can model contagious data properly. The different estimation approaches of parameters of the new process are provided and compared through the Monte Carlo simulation scheme. The performance of the proposed process is evaluated by four data sets of the daily death counts of the COVID-19 in Austria, Switzerland, Nigeria and Slovenia in comparison with some competitor INAR(1) models, along with the Pearson residual analysis of the assessing model. The goodness of fit measures affirm the adequacy of the proposed process in modeling all COVID-19 data sets. The fundamental prediction procedures are considered for new process by classic, modified Sieve bootstrap and Bayesian forecasting methods for all COVID-19 data sets, which is concluded that the Bayesian forecasting approach provides more reliable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of multinational oil companies (MOCs) in Nigeria. Its special focus is to investigate the impact of the global memorandum of understanding (GMoU) on enhancing rural women's financial inclusion in the areas of access to credit, insurance, propensity of women to save and the widening of economic opportunities in the Niger Delta. A total of 800 rural women were sampled across the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Results from the use of a combined propensity score matching and logit model indicate that the GMoU model has made significant impact on closing the gaps in financial services, thereby removing women's constraints on their efforts to enhance their financial literacy. The results also confirm that innovative delivery channels and social networks of the GMoUs have reduced some costs in the areas of access to credit, insurance, propensity to save and the widening of economic opportunities of rural women in the oil host communities. However, a further look at the rural women's participation in the CSR activities using SCOTDI shows that even though the involvement of the women is appreciable, it is insignificant when compared with their male counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, ignited by rising levels of police brutality towards youth in Nigeria, the #ENDSARS movement erupted in Nigeria. Protestors rallied against the nation's Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), calling for its disbandment after people became fed up with the brutality it unleashed on innocent citizens. However, the issues raised by the #ENDSARS movement are not new, and the movement is reminiscent of decades of organizing against Nigerian police forces. Drawing on archival data, this paper investigates the nature of police violence against Black women in Nigeria under colonialism between 1925 and 1930. This article examines two separate instances of Black women's organizing in southeastern Nigeria against market tolls that particularly affected women. In both instances, their cries were met with brutal force from the police which prompted new rounds of activism from the women. Findings reveal that police violence against Black women was gendered, racialized, and capitalist. In turn, this paper seeks to uncover what the Movement for Black Lives has termed the 'vestiges of colonialism' in the system of policing in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is currently facing a global pandemic, code-named the Covid-19, which is seriously wrecking a devastating blow on world health care system. Since the first index case was reported in Lagos, Nigeria, in February, 2020, the Federal and State Governments have put measures in place to curtail the spread of the deadly virus in the country. Some of the measures include the constitution of the Presidential Task Force (PTF), provision of isolation and treatment centres for confirmed cases, and the pronouncement of lockdown order by the President and some State Governors. Amidst these measures, cartoonists (artists, or authors in literary context) have taken to the media to creatively present humorous and satirical depictions of the pandemic and social realities in the fight against it. This study, thus, analyses the humorous and satirical depiction of the pandemic, the state of the Nigerian health sector, and the country's major actors in the fight against the scourge, using selected cartoons from the Nigerian context. These cartoons can be classified as graphic literary texts that can be subjected to different interpretations. The cartoons/texts are selected from the Facebook pages of popular Nigerian cartoonists/authors. A total number of ten (10) cartoons/texts were randomly selected between March and April 2020. The number of cartoons was limited to ten (10) in order to accommodate the rigour of qualitative analysis, which, in turn, informed one of the limitations of the study. This study adopts two (2) models/theories in interpreting the cartoons, which are Suls's (1983) Incongruity Resolution (IR) model, a linguistic tool of lexicalisation, re-lexicalisation, and shared sociocultural knowledge used to explicate humour and satire in the cartoons, and Structuralism, which requires human behaviour (as represented in texts or cartoons) to be understood in the context of a broad social system (otherwise called structures) in which they exist. This study observed that the cartoons are not just independent texts or images, but that they are products of the Nigerian social condition, and that understanding them requires a level of familiarity with their contexts of production.It also revealed that, as a means of visual communication, the cartoons exposed the realities in the country and refused to be relegated to simply satirical images of issues and events in the country's history. The analysis showed that cartoons are an important part of the discourse on the pandemic. Equally, the paper revealed that, the cartoonists have deployed both verbal and non-verbal incongruity to present comical images that show beliefs of Nigerians about the pandemic and the level of the country's preparedness in flattening the curve of the contraction of the virus. Although the paper is concerned with Covid-19 in the Nigerian context, it is limited to the linguistic and literary analysis of the pandemic in selected cartoons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on qualitative approach comprising interviews and relevant archival materials to examine how oil theft in Nigeria's Niger Delta has degraded the environment with dire consequences on environmental and socio-economic sustainability as well as human security. The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the unexplored dimensions of the linkage between oil theft, environmental degradation and human insecurity in the face of apparent state nonchalance and weakness. Specifically, the primary data were generated from the interview of twenty-six key informants, who were purposively selected as well as four focus group discussions (FGDs). The complementary secondary data were extracted from journals, books, government documents and web-based materials. The paper finds that the operations of oil thieves and artisanal refiners have worsened environmental challenges and aggravated human insecurity in the region. The implications include among others, the emasculation of the local economy due to the destruction of traditional means of livelihoods, deepening impoverishment, and heightened prospects of restiveness with negative impacts on Nigerian economy. This paper recommends strengthening the surveillance and response capacity of relevant state institutions, legitimising artisanal refining, and developing sustainable welfare packages to cushion socio-economic deprivations being suffered by oil-bearing communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the oral and dermal health risks of potentially toxic elements in water samples collected from Ojoto area in southeast Nigeria were studied using HHRISK code and water quality index. The water samples were analysed for physicochemical parameters based on standard guidelines. Average concentration of the potentially toxic elements in the water was in the order: Pb2+ > Fe2+ > Zn2+ > Ni2+ > Cr3+. To assess the level of surface and groundwater pollution, water quality index was calculated. Results of the water quality index suggest that 11% of the water samples are in good condition; 25% have poor quality, 3% have very poor quality, and 53% have quality that is unfit for human consumption. The HHRISK code was used to quantify the health risks associated with the use of the water resources. Results revealed that most of the water samples expose their users to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks. Cumulative non-carcinogenic risk scores (for both children and adults) and the majority of cumulative carcinogenic risk values were found to be above regulatory limits. The adult population is exposed to lower non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks, implying that children are more vulnerable. The water supplies are of substandard quality and could cause serious health issues when ingested than when used for bathing and washing purposes. Simple linear regression models showed positive agreement between the results of the WQI and HHRISK code. To safeguard the water resources, avoid additional water contamination, and reduce public health hazards associated with poor water quality, strategic mitigation strategies are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A small proportion of women are found in the prison population worldwide and consequently they have been ignored in prison studies and policy engagements designed to mitigate their "pains of imprisonment." Despite the growing literature on prison science, only a few data-based studies have investigated the negative experiences of women prisoners in Nigeria. This research, therefore, sets out to empirically examine the gender-specific problems facing female inmates. A thematic analysis of the in-depth oral interview data generated from 25 inmates purposively selected from the women population revealed that their dietary, medical, personal hygienic and motherhood needs were grossly insufficient and dehumanizing. The situation is so debilitating that they have no option but to reuse such personal hygienic requirements as sanitary/menstrual pads and sometimes, use toilet papers and pieces of cloths in its stead. Other needs were occasionally met by their family members, churches, charity organizations, and individual donors. Confining women in correctional facilities established and equipped for men rather intensified their plight. The study calls for continuous determined efforts by governments, civil liberty organizations, faith-based institutions, and the academia to obtain – through policy, research, and practice – empirical evidence that is capable of providing practical solution to the problem. The intervention is both multi-sectoral and cross-disciplinary based, demonstrating a new drive and potential for harm reduction, as well as strengthening the growing advocacy on the treatment of (women) prisoners for better results. The call for further studies was also discussed to justify any perceived limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like most low-and-middle-income countries, Nigeria has been finding it difficult to meet the basic needs of her populace including their health needs. Nigerians are dying of preventable diseases because of poverty and the lack of a functional healthcare system. As a result, the Nigerian government introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cater to the health needs of its population. This study assessed the knowledge, accessibility and utilization of the NHIS among registered employees of federal government institutions in Ebonyi state. The study used Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) to collect data from 43 participants. The collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that most of the participants have accessed and utilized the scheme and saw it as a good healthcare system. They also reported a lack of most of the prescribed drugs and inadequate personnel at the NHIS clinics which is impacting the effectiveness of the scheme. The paper recommends that NHIS should create more awareness about the scheme, and cover more dependents, drugs, tests, and treatment bills to make it more effective in healthcare delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South African bioeconomy strategy did not clearly articulate the measurement framework to monitor the implementation of the strategy. This paper provides an analysis of bioeconomy patents, the most prolific organizations and citations at the EPO and USPTO for South Africa, BRICS, Egypt and Nigeria during the Ten-Year Innovation Plan 2008–2018. The terms 'biotechnology', 'medical technology', 'pharmaceuticals' and 'selected environment-related technologies' were used to search for patents. The OECD patents by technology, the EPO PATSTAT and the USPTO PatFT databases were used to map patents and citations. The results show that South Africa ranked last in the BRICS group but produced a higher number of patents than Egypt and Nigeria. The number of patents generally decreased for the selected countries except for China. The total citations for the selected countries was generally inconsistent. The important innovators for South Africa in the bioeconomy are mainly universities and public research institutions. A new fiscal approach to encourage knowledge application in bioeconomy in South Africa is required. Incentives from government that encourage collaboration between research institutions and industry to direct research with industry application are required. The study contributes to the development of metrics to monitor the bioeconomy in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The observed low level of information and communication technology (ICT) usage among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) firms in many African countries may serve as a major constraint to their productivity. The productivity of service and manufacturing firms is impacted differently due to this low uptake of ICT. This paper seeks to examine the differential effects of ICT on MSMEs' productivity in emerging African economies, specifically Egypt and Nigeria. This study evaluates the effects of ICT on MSMEs' productivity across different sectors (services and manufacturing), by size and aggregated. The estimated results support the positive impact of MSMEs' website presence and use of email on their productivity, though the magnitude varies across different analyses and sectors. This appears to support the differential sectoral impacts of ICT on MSMEs' productivity across countries in emerging markets. Specifically, this study finds evidence for a higher impact of firms' website presence on productivity in the manufacturing sector than the services sector across emerging economies. The study, therefore, recommends that emerging markets economies that want to implement appropriate national technology policies to enhance their firms' productivity should always consider their differential effects on various sectors, as universal ICT policies may not achieve the desired objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper principally explores the determinants of successful information technology entrepreneurship in Nigeria's IT sector. It further examines the moderating effect of mentorship (either by an IT practitioner or a non-IT practitioner) in the correlation between the independent variables of interest and dependent variable. Literature from the developed markets underscores a positive relationship between training and successful entrepreneurship. However, such relationship is seldom explored within the context of developing markets such as Nigeria. Thus, this paper explores the impact of specific factors such as IT-focused entrepreneurial training, being born by entrepreneur parents, business school training, faith in a supernatural and mentorship on IT entrepreneurial success A quantitative research design involving a web-based survey was used to collect data among 297 participants. All collected data were screened and analyzed using binary logistic regression and Exploratory Factor Analysis. The results showed that IT entrepreneurs who are born by entrepreneur parents are more likely to succeed than those without such family backgrounds. Also, the attendance of a business school is a significant predictive factor for IT entrepreneurial success in Nigeria. Surprisingly, no significant correlation exists between formal education in the IT field and IT entrepreneurial success. Further, no significant moderating effect of mentorship was present. This implies that IT entrepreneurs in Nigeria need to harness the benefits of entrepreneurial family background and business school education to sustainably grow their businesses and become successful. Also, committed federal government backing is needed to introduce innovative entrepreneurial initiatives to improve competence among IT entrepreneurs in Nigeria. General business/management training is needed besides conventional IT training as the former is a better predictor of success among IT entrepreneurs. Finally, trainings need to focus on building competencies for relationship management to aid access to resources for innovation and growth. Future studies should consider a qualitative approach to investigating the mediating impact of mentorship on IT entrepreneurship success in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of librarians in e- learning programs, as a consequence of post-covid adaptations in Nigerian universities. Through a review of the relevant literature and of current practice in existing e-learning programs in Nigerian universities, a discussion is developed around the significant roles librarians can play. The embedded librarianship model was identified as the best practice to adopt in order to secure a place for librarians and libraries in Nigeria in the face of the current change in teaching approaches in the post Covid-19 environment. Furthermore, the paper describes the perceived challenges librarians and libraries may be confronted with in executing the embedded librarianship model with regard to online teaching and learning. The paper advocates that the identified challenges be addressed for the library to play a role in the evolving post-covid adaptations in Nigerian universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastic research in Nigeria is progressing slowly. Within 2019–2020, only10research papers have been published on microplastic in Nigeria. Microplastics have been detected in lagoons and rivers water systems. This paper reviews the progress in microplastics research in Nigeria, providing information analytical methods and also giving consideration for quality control and assurance (QA/QC) measures. This paper further discusses the distribution of microplastics in surface water, sediment and marine organisms as well as recent progress in risk assessments.Finally, this paper provides suggestions for future studies to provide baseline information for better research and risk assessment of microplastics in the Nigerian environment such as focusing on air, drinking water, plants and other consumables.These will surely help us to understand the distribution and how much exposure inhabitants are to microplastic pollution and may necessitate the need to mitigate plastic pollution in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Nigeria, this paper explores the efforts of an online youth leadership programme, Days of Change, which succeeded in galvanising, uniting, and engaging Nigerian youth both online and offline, across social, class, and ethnic divides concerning nation building. The paper provides a unique example of the ways in which online media have become veritable sites of popular urban youth cultures, from which young people negotiate the unstable landscape of post-coloniality that the African state has foisted on its vulnerable youth population. More importantly, the paper seeks to lay the groundwork for further theorisations on how social media can be utilised as a vehicle for anti-colonial youth engagement Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the world, Special Operations Forces (SOFs) play a leading role in asymmetric warfare. The unique trainings, skills, weapons, and equipment of these elite Tier 1 operators, differentiates them from conventional forces, making them the preferred choice in complex environments. SOFs are ideally deployed for short operations, which include direct action missions, hostage rescue, hunting high-value targets (HVTs), mobility operations, intelligence operations, airborne operations, counterterrorism (CT), counterinsurgency (COIN) operations, and covert operations among others. While the literature has mostly focused on the utility of major powers' SOFs in the Global War on Terror (GWOT), with little attention on Africa's SOF's, this paper examines the origins, evolution, composition, and deployments of Nigeria's SOFs specifically in the Northeast, Northcentral, and Northwest theatres of operation, against the Boko Haram insurgency and armed banditry, respectively. Drawing on primary data from interviews with key informants and other secondary data sources, the paper interrogates the successes, challenges, and prospects of Nigeria's SOFs. The strategic utility and overreliance on Nigeria's SOFs by political leaders and the Military's High Command puts a strain on their strategic value which potentially undermines their strategic efficacy as a force-multiplier in the long run, against unconventional threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the risk factors associated with the collaborative development of information systems (IS) within the university environment in Nigeria. They use observations and reviews of relevant reports of the project as well as a variation of the Delphi Study in presenting their findings. The study shows that risks were associated with funding, top administrators' commitment, the number of participating universities, the role of the donor, as well as other factors. In addition, the challenges posed by each risk factor and the lessons learned are presented. Primarily, the study reports the scenario of IS development by universities in a developing economy in which the development process is characterized by collaboration. Opportunities for future research on the issue are also outlined. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northwest Nigeria has been devastated by armed banditry, with Zamfara state being the epicenter of the crisis. The use of vigilantes in non-state policing against armed banditry has accorded legitimacy to these groups. However, their activities also pose significant challenges. Where scholarly work has examined the legitimacy of vigilantes, the focus has mostly been on legitimacy derived from the nation-state. This paper, contributes to the literature by interrogating the legitimacy of vigilantism as a non-state policing tool toward countering armed banditry, derived from affected local communities in Zamfara state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young mothers often encounter stigma and discrimination, affecting their lives and that of their children. This paper explores stigma management strategies and their effectiveness for young mothers in rural Nigeria. Ten key informants and 24 young mothers were recruited from Ife-East in South-Western Nigeria. Data from semi-structured interviews showed that societal disapproval of pregnant teenagers and young mothers were common experiences. Women used a range of strategies to actively cope with stigma including: belief in predestination, avoidance, concealment, and cohabitation. These strategies could be seen as tools to mitigate negative stereotypes and discrimination. However, they also had the unintended consequences of compounding many young women’s difficult circumstances and exposing them to adverse outcomes, including gender-based violence, repeat pregnancies, poor mental health, and low uptake of services. The results show the need for policy frameworks to actively combat stigma by addressing the negative framing of early pregnancy and motherhood and promoting supportive environments for young mothers. Health professionals need to be trained to offer de-stigmatising services to encourage young mothers to seek help and reduce pre-existing inequities in access to services, and policies need to include measures that address the rights of young mothers and protect them from violence and abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The engagement of children in domestic work in third-party households is mostly conceived as a decision that benefits adult actors - employers, intermediaries and/or parents - at the expense of young people. Thus, child domestic workers are often depicted as victims of different kinds of exploitation - ranging from the nature of their recruitment to the work they do; and the conditions under which the work is done. This popular representation of children as 'helpless victims', however, undermines working children's capacity to navigate the complexities that surround their living and working situations. Based on primary data gathered from fieldwork in South-West Nigeria, this paper examines how, with limited options, child domestic workers defy the victimhood narrative. It argues that even in the face of severe constraints, child domestic workers still find ways to exercise their agency. It concludes by highlighting the complexity of childhood work experiences; arguing for a more nuanced understanding of the same; and the need to rethink the frameworks and/or support networks for child domestic workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertility rates in Nigeria are declining at such a modest rate, that if more proactive measures are not employed to reduce fertility, the nation may double its population before long. We empirically examined fertility behaviour as derivatives of specific subgroup social norms, and the variations in the factors responsible for different fertility behaviours, using the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Descriptive bivariate, and multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to predict the contribution of demographic and sociocultural factors contributing to the fertility level, and findings were reported as odds ratios. Results revealed that age, religion and level of education are the most significant predictors of fertility level, with remarkable differences in birth rate across subgroups, whereas North-West Nigeria had the highest fertility level. Furthermore, marriage had a significantly negative effect on high fertility among North-Western women, whereas higher education significantly increased high fertility among North-Eastern women. In conclusion, subgroup social norms fertility behaviour is responsible for the persistent fertility differential outcome in Nigeria. Thus, the paper strongly advocates the need to intensify community-led, norm-based solution and not a universal approach in addressing fertility control in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internally displaced youth and adolescents may continue to suffer from displacement-associated trauma and stress many years after initial displacement. Hence, our study initially aimed to qualitatively explore how displaced youth and adolescents in Nigeria are coping with the trauma and stress associated with protracted displacement. However, through serendipity, results from the thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews from 22 displaced youths and nine professionals in Abuja revealed that in addition to some positive coping mechanisms, some displaced young males turn to drugs, while some young women turn to transactional sex and multiple sexual partners to deal with the impact of protracted displacement. This may lead to increased crime, morbidity, and mortality, thus requiring immediate intervention. This paper concluded by recommending that social workers help displaced youth and adolescents deal with their current stressors by advocating for the improvement of their living situation while also working with other professionals to intervene on the issue of drug misuse and unhealthy sexual behaviours through continuous education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legislature–executive impasse is one of the challenges Nigeria's democracy has been facing since its transition back to civil rule on May 29, 1999. The polity has been witnessing conflicts between the legislature and the executive over budget matters. Despite certain provisions of the 1999 constitution aimed at rectifying some of the problems identified with legislature–executive relations in the previous Republics, the Fourth Republic also followed the confrontational and conflictual power relations between the executive and the legislature. This study seeks to look beyond a constitutional solution to manage the intermittent imbroglio between the legislature and the executive with a view to fostering good governance and development. The study relies on secondary data. The paper investigates the factors responsible for legislature–executive conflictual relations; and the effects of this impasse on budget, governance and development. It also examines the mechanisms for legislature–executive collaborative relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing regions that engage in agricultural and industrial activities, access to high-quality water for drinking, domestic, irrigation and industrial purposes is limited. In this study, comprehensive water quality assessment has been carried out to unravel the suitability of water supplies in Umunya suburb for human consumption, industrial and irrigation purposes. Water samples from spring, streams, and boreholes were analysed for physicochemical properties and heavy metals pollution. Pollution index of groundwater (PIG) was used to assess the drinking suitability of the waters whereas several indexical methods were integrated to unravel their suitability for irrigation and industrial purposes. The pH (4.61–6.53) revealed that majority of the samples are acidic. All the chemical ions were within their respective standard allowable limits, except for Fe, Pb and Ni. Generally, these heavy metals significantly impacted the water quality of the area. The PIG evaluation of the waters for drinking purpose revealed that 40% of the samples are unsuitable. However, most of the indices used for the irrigation water quality evaluation showed that majority of the samples are suitable for irrigation uses. The industrial water quality assessment indicated that the natural waters have more corrosive tendency than scaling tendency. Corrosivity and scaling indices, such as Langelier index, Larson-Skold index, chloride-sulphate mass ratio, aggressive index, Ryznar stability index, and Puckorius scaling index, unveiled that the natural waters are severely corrosive, having the tendency to damage domestic, irrigational, and industrial water distribution systems. This paper provides significant information necessary for the management and sustainability of water resources in Umunya suburb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent times, globally, it has been found that several natural and anthropogenic factors are responsible for the degradation and depreciation in quality and quantity of groundwater resources. This problem seems to be more pronounced in urban areas. In this paper, the groundwater quality of Nnewi and Awka urban areas in southeastern Nigeria was assessed using integrated pollution indices and multivariate statistics. pH scores showed that Awka has more of acidic waters than Nnewi. The level of heavy metals in the waters was assessed using heavy metal evaluation index, modified heavy metal index and modified heavy metal pollution index. These indices showed that most of the samples in Awka are polluted with heavy metals (such as Cu, Cd and Pb) whereas they indicated that most samples from Nnewi have low pollution. Similarly, ecological risk assessment was performed to clearly depict the possible impacts of the potentially toxic elements on the water environment. The result revealed that 55% of the total water samples across the two localities recorded low-moderate ecological risk while 45% recorded high-very high ecological risk. The priority pollutants identified by the numerical indicators are Cu, Pb and Cd. Correlation and factor analyses suggested that the associations between the analytes are attributable to both natural and anthropogenic factors. However, human activities seem to have played a higher role. Furthermore, pollution index of groundwater, synthetic pollution index and overall index of pollution were utilised to assess the suitability of the groundwater resources for drinking purpose. Their results appeared to be consistent with other models, indicating that the urban groundwater supply in Awka is posed with higher pollution threat than in Nnewi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the patronage of street food vendor in Nigeria. The data for this study was collected from 385 street food customers in northwest Nigeria, and was analyzed using multiple regression. Also, composite reliability and Average Variance Extracted were used to test the reliability and validity of the instrument. The finding shows that patronage of street food vendor is taken as a function of quality food, value for money and familiarity of the food contents. Since the industry is one of the sources of employment generation, understanding what makes people patronize them can be a contribution to the development of the literature and an important step in designing a more effective policy mechanism for economic growth. Informal sectors are under researched and most researchers delved more on formal economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Business entities do not often include terms in commercial agreements unless those terms are relevant and are designed to maximise the gains of the parties to the agreement. To realise their reasonable and legitimate expectations, they expect that contractual terms and promises would be respected by the parties and courts. There is a growing body of literature suggesting that Nigerian courts are not giving maximum effects to foreign jurisdiction clauses (FJC). What is largely missing from the scholarly contributions is that no one has worked out a principled solution to overcome this conundrum. This article significantly contributes to the existing literature through an empirical analysis of Nigerian appellate court decisions on FJCs with a view to gaining deeper insights into the attitude of Nigerian courts to FJCs. Compared to the US where the national average of enforcement is 74%, a 40% rate for Nigeria does not project Nigeria as a pro-business forum. This outlook can potentially disincentivise cross-border trade and commerce between Nigeria and the rest of the world. To address this problem, the paper proceeds by presenting a normative framework, built principally on economic and contract theories, for enforcing FJCs. As most of the cases are B2B transactions, the paper invites the courts to treat FJCs and arbitration clauses equally and to replace forum non conveniens considerations with a more principled approach which limits non-enforcement to overriding policy, and a strong cause that is defined by reasonableness and foreseeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the Prayer Warriors of Rumuekpe, Rivers State, Nigeria, a women human rights defenders group demonstrated their ability to contribute to the peace process despite the patriarchal structures that impede them and conditions of extreme violence. The women saw the need to adopt methods that were in their feminine domain and therefore framed their collective action as maternal. Motherhood is a cultural role already assigned to them, and they decided to utilise it to prevent backlash and victimisation from men in the community. Primary and secondary data sources have been used in this study. Primary data included field notes and 30 interviews with men and women in Rumuekpe. Secondary data included books/book chapters, essays, journal articles, and research reports relevant to the theme of this paper. Findings show that women played an important role in the peace process. The paper demonstrates that amid gendered limitations and obstacles arising from conditions of extreme violence, women find their voices even if it is through processes like collectivising within a maternal framework, which aligns with the stereotypical idea that women are primarily mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schools in migrant-sending contexts often educate many children whose parents live abroad and decide to 'leave' or 'send' their children to be raised 'back home'. Yet there has been little attention to how transnational child-raising is enacted by non-kin actors within educational institutions. This paper addresses this absence, exploring Lagos private schools as crucial sites of care for children with parents in the diaspora. Examining educators' perspectives on schooling children 'sent back' to Nigeria from the UK and USA, the paper argues that they undertake intensive and strategic projects of transnational child-raising. They act as defacto guardians and position their educational offerings as highly moral in ways that draw on endogenous notions of 'training' good character, but are not driven by reproducing tradition. Rather, they play intermediary roles in transnational families: they aim to realise parents' desires for respectful, disciplined children who excel academically, yet are also attuned to young people's struggles. They are conscious of diaspora realities and understand their schools' roles as portals facing both ways in the transnational social field, preparing young people for multiple possible futures. The paper demonstrates that exploring education as a site of social reproduction can be richly revealing of the dynamics of transnationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do intergovernmental transfers affect the multidimensional well-being of households? This paper investigates the relationship between intergovernmental transfers and household multidimensional well-being, using the revenue allocation by the federal government to sub-national or state governments in Nigeria. We follow Alkire & Foster to compute a multidimensional poverty index (MPI), which is the weighted sum of three broad dimensions of poverty – health, education, and living standards. We adopt an instrumental variable (IV) approach by using exogenous variation in oil windfalls as an instrument to mitigate the endogeneity concerns associated with using intergovernmental transfers in our analysis. We find that an increase in intergovernmental transfers leads to an improvement in household multidimensional well-being or a decline in the multidimensional poverty index. We identify recurrent and capital expenditures as some of the potential channels through which intergovernmental transfers affect the multidimensional well-being of households in Nigeria. The findings of this paper reinforce the growing evidence of the developmental impacts of intergovernmental transfers, especially in the context of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurial skills are considered one of the most important competencies expected to be possessed by Library and Information Science (LIS) faculty and academic librarians as information professionals. These skills include technical skills, managerial skills, business skills, personal maturity skills, ICT skills and information literacy skills. The context observation and literature review indicated limited research on the entrepreneurial skills of Library and Information Science (LIS) faculty and academic librarians in Nigerian universities. The need to fill this inadvertently created gap initiated this study. The study aimed to assess entrepreneurial skills level as well as identify entrepreneurship issues and prospects of LIS faculty and academic librarians in South-West Nigerian universities with library schools. This paper was anchored on survey research design. The study employed the total enumeration method to cover all LIS faculty and academic librarians in these universities. An adapted structured questionnaire was administered and responses were analyzed quantitatively using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed lackluster technical, business and ICT skills of these information professionals including unacceptable managerial skills. Furthermore, entrepreneurship issues showed government-centered, institutional and personal subjects such as government policies, economic problems, legal registration, funding, excessive workload and lack of entrepreneurial attitude. The study also uncovered dwindling entrepreneurship prospects. The study recommends premeditated efforts by LIS faculty and academic librarians and universities at entrepreneurial development and the advancement of citizen-friendly entrepreneurial policies and a blueprint by the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examined the relationship between mentoring, motivation, and achievement of organizational set-goals of the six public tertiary institutions in Lagos State, Nigeria at the time of this study. Structured and self-developed copies of questionnaires were used to obtain data for the study. The study reported a positive and significant relationship between mentoring and organizational set-goals (r = 0.353, p < 0.01) as well as a positive and significant relationship between financial motivation (r = 0.736, p < 0.01) and non-financial motivation (r = 0.687, p < 0.01) with achievement of organizational set-goals among libraries of public tertiary institutions in Lagos state. However, the study confirmed that mentoring: B = 0.415, t = 2.873, p = 0.01 < 0.05 and motivation: B = 0.652, t=-3.414, p = 0.00 < 0.05; contributed significantly to the achievement of organizational set-goals of libraries of public tertiary institutions in Lagos State but motivation (B = 0.652) contributed more than mentoring to the achievement of organizational set-goals. Against these findings, the study recommended that mentoring should be given priority in the studied tertiary institutions in Lagos State in particular and Nigeria as a whole while efforts should further be put in place to ensure continuous staff motivation as these two variables are capable of strengthening the achievement of organizational set-goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars often analyse the Nigerian political economy from class, ethnic, regional, and other analytic perspectives. Racial capitalism is rarely employed to analyse the Nigerian political economy and the endemic identity crises that always lead to hatred, tension, and violent conflicts. Environmental pollution is often not accidental, but deliberate environmental and economic sabotage. This paper sees it as a dimension of environmental racism. Identity manipulation and the crises accompanying it are normal functioning of racial capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central argument of this paper was to examine the intervention of Multinational Corporations toward improving tertiary education. Tertiary education in Nigeria is undoubtedly challenged; among these issues are inadequate funding and mismanagement of funds, infrastructural problem, and ongoing strike by university lecturers. A qualitative method of data collection and analysis was used for the study. Interviews were conducted, and NVivo software was utilized in the transcription, coding, and analysis of data from the interview. This was supported by the secondary data, including journals, relevant books, periodicals, newspaper reports, internet sources, government releases, and CSR reports. The findings reveal that per Sustainable Development Goals for education (SDG 4: Quality Education), Etisalat has considerably improved Nigeria's Tertiary education. This includes the Etisalat telecommunications engineering postgraduate program. The scholarship was also provided for university lecturers to improve their capacity. It has empowered the local lecturers to learn cutting-edge competence in telecommunication engineering. Since its inception, the merit scholarship award has improved the knowledge of STEM among Nigeria's tertiary institutions. This study adds to the literature on the role of non-state actors, especially Multinational Corporations, in developing the education sector in Nigeria and achieving sustainable development goals around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender hierarchy and inequality are attributes of Western colonialism enforced in several colonised societies. Similarly, feminism (Western), as the antithesis of European sexism, has permeated colonised societies and has been assimilated without proper reflection. This is concretely evident among the Yorùbá people of south-western Nigeria. Before European colonisation, Yorùbá culture was gender-neutral and gender-silent; women were seen as complementary and not subordinate to men. Hence, according to Oyěwùmí's work on The Invention of Women, caution and reflections must be raised on the continual adoption of mainstream Western feminist philosophy in Yorùbá culture. In essence, the colonial imposition of the Western gender binary in Yorùbá society and women's anti-colonial and feminist activities are discussed. Furthermore, the paper challenges some feminist approaches and ideologies in Nigeria, while advocating for a communal, transformative, and Pan-African feminism in Yorùbá and African societies. The decolonisation of Africa and the Yorùbá education system are recommended, alongside a proper history of Indigenous Yoruba people and knowledges. Contemporary feminist campaigns (including digital feminisms) and movements must also develop a 'shared text of blackness'. The duo should align and improve the worth of women based on the indispensability and esteemed status offered to women in 'pre-colonial' Yorùbá society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of non-state actors as channels of aid allocation has been increasingly favoured over the use of government and state agencies. This paper makes use of anecdotal evidence from interviews, focus groups, and surveys in the South-East and South-South regions of Nigeria to explore aid allocation processes with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of aid, particularly in conflict-affected societies. The findings show that the participants generally prefer bypassing the government in the survey. However, a deeper examination of the interviews and focus groups indicates that bypassing government may not necessarily be the most effective aid allocation process. A hybrid system that essentially involves the government, non-state actors, and particularly the end-users of the aid is encouraged. The findings also indicate that regions with higher levels of instability such as conflict may prefer the allocation of aid via non-state actors than other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This narrative review paper considers the link between poverty and food security in urban and rural Nigeria, with emphasis on the economic (food availability & accessibility), social (people related factors) and environmental (effective resource use) implications. This study suggests that appropriate governance mechanisms must be put in place while developing strategies and policies to address problems of poverty and food insecurity in Nigeria. Improving infrastructure, mitigating the impact of continuing population growth, and uneven distribution of income, and identifying opportunities for education are important components to consider in developing food security policies and strategies for the Nigerian people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While studies in social media and disability are growing globally, there is paucity in such studies in Nigeria. This study addresses this apparent gap by exploring the experiences and perceptions of Nigerian adults living with physical disability regarding social media, using an interpretive approach. A total of nine adults with physical disability between the ages of 20 and 34, living in urban areas, were interviewed in this study. Findings show that participants experienced diminished social contact and smaller social networks due to their disability. However, participants who used social media experienced increased social contact, developed social relationships, and had larger social networks. Participants also acknowledged social media as a useful platform for disability advocacy and awareness. Results support a call for continued efforts to support adults with physical disability experiencing diminished social contact to use social media to increase their social wellbeing. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. The paper examines the perceptions and experience of social media use among adults with physical disability in Nigeria. Analyses show that adults with physical disability in Nigeria experience some form of diminished social contact and smaller social networks due to their disability. Nigerian adults with physical disability who use social media experience increased social contact, establish and maintain social relationships, and have a larger social networks. Adults with physical disability in Nigeria acknowledge social media as a useful platform for disability awareness and advocacy. This research recommends that Nigerian adults with physical disability experiencing diminished social contact should use social media to increase their social wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current heightened sensitivity around history, colonisation and the aftermath of the socio-political and cultural ethos of the world can create in many people the fear of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation. This fear can affect the ability to imagine and play in certain learning settings, especially in devising performances, socially engaged theatre, and other arts-based explorations. However, what happens when participants choose not to engage due to the abovementioned fears? This paper considers the differing ways in which fear of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation deterred students from learning while teaching in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the rapidly growing cities of the Global South, and Africa in particular, urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) is increasingly recognized as a survival strategy both by researchers and international development organizations. While UPA is well researched, direct links to economic crisis and class variations in participation have only received limited attention in the Nigerian context. This study focuses on Benin City, the second largest city in Nigeria's southern oil producing region, where repeated and unpredictable fluctuations in oil prices have significant implications for livelihoods. The paper discusses the results of field-based data collected using qualitative research methods (observation, in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys) in Benin City, Southern Nigeria, where there is a dearth of published material on the practice of UPA. The paper reveals that in the context of unpredictable and frequent exposures to economic shocks, households at all socio-economic levels depend significantly on food production activities, not only for their immediate survival, but as a means of reducing household vulnerability and building resilience against future shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries worldwide provide knowledge management (KM) services to support university research activities, while some librarians are slowly implementing knowledge management practices. The paper examined librarians' perception of knowledge management in Nigerian university libraries and discovered that they perceived it positively. It also identified KM practices in Nigerian university libraries, such as brainstorming, knowledge sharing and mentoring. However, these practices were not recognized as KM practices and were not officially documented as such. Furthermore, the paper also revealed that the effects of KM on the professional development of academic librarians were positive. Therefore, the researchers proffer some recommendations to enhance KM practices in Nigerian university libraries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, democratic principles revolve around transparency, accountability and greater involvement of the citizens in government programmes and activities for sustainable development. This can only be achieved if the people have access to government information and this is why agitations for freedom of information continue to heighten. Open government data (OGD) play major roles in democratization of information and a propeller of transparency and open governance. This paper adopted descriptive informatics and literature review approach to examine the websites of major government ministries and agencies in Nigeria including Nigeria Data Portal to determine the availability and status of open government data. Findings reveal that while some websites have presence of OGD, over 60% are yet to provide such data in the website. Also the data portal has several government data but they are hardly updated. The paper also identified several challenges of OGD in Nigeria and proposed recommendations to mitigate the challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]