Search

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]

Discourses in Nigeria are fixated on core cultural ideologies through a multidimensional interface. The present study tests this interface by mapping out ideologies in crisis-driven political discourse centred on the herdsmen crisis. The paper argues that certain ideologies are characteristic of Nigerian political discourse and form the meaningful units of a wide range of its discourses. Drawing on 757 news headlines reporting the herdsmen crisis, the study further attests that crisis discourse in Nigeria is often patterned around certain prevalent ideologies, that is, religious divide, ethnicity, nationhood, power abuse, and citizen distrust, which can further be mapped onto the socio-political landscape of the country. The paper argues that since crisis-driven discourse in Nigeria is a construct of its building block ideologies, such discourse is best deconstructed from such underlying ideological architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Gender & Development is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study purposively selected 148 Science and Engineering Journals out of the 221 Journals registered on the African Journal Online (AJOL) directory. Data harvested were analyzed on a year-wise basis from 2012 to 2016, to identify the positive or negative growth trend of research output. The open source software "Publish or Perish" was used to query metrical data for the purposively selected journals by accessing the Google scholar database over the internet. Data were obtained to determine the degree of collaboration based on the 19 thematic areas as identified in the Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy document. It was further examined by measuring the authorship pattern and co-authorship index (CAI). The analysis from the study provides information on the productivity of research that has been carried out in the various thematic areas in Nigerian Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy. It also provides information on the nature and extent of collaboration of research among the actors in the research and development system. It thus serves as a reference tool for policymakers to review science, technology and innovation policy in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper builds on the naturalistic decision-making paradigm to advance the meaning and application of expert intuition in real-life settings. While conventional models of expert intuition often link intuitive competence to pattern recognition skills, the current paper advances prior knowledge by demonstrating that intuitive expertise is inextricably linked to actors’ ability to discriminate between subtle informational cues through the process of information filtering. Drawing on data from a phenomenological study involving thirty (30) fireground commanders (UK = 15, Nigeria = 15), the study utilised the critical decision method (CDM) to explore the cognitive strategies utilised by these expert fire-fighters. The method entailed that each expert participant shared a retrospective non-routine fire incident that particularly challenged their expertise, allowing the resulting qualitative data to be coded and analysed using a combination of emergent themes analysis (ETA) and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Specifically, the paper develops and discusses: (i) a theoretical model of intuition that emerged directly from the expert incident accounts (ii) an inventory of forty-two critical cues that aided expert decision-making on the fireground, alongside a cue classification framework. Competence on the fireground was found to be a function of experts’ cue discriminatory and information filtering abilities that subsequently allowed information from multiple sources to be processed and utilised efficiently. Although the firefighting domain formed the central focus of this study, findings are deemed generalisable across other high-risk organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the deleterious effects of petroleum extractive activities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, with a special focus on HIV infection. It argues against the hegemonizing claims of the "resource curse" thesis and deploys the framework of "accumulation by dispossession" to explain the crisis of development associated with the country's petroleum economy. The paper couches the challenges of economic survival in the petroleum resource-rich region on a predatory alliance between the extractive transnational corporations (TNCs) and the domestic compradors. It highlights the implications of extractive activities in the region for HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does a legal reform with patriarchal interpretations of the religious law codes affect the wellbeing of the children? In this study, we show that reforming the legal system by adopting a religious law, with high enforcement in some Nigerian states, affects a woman's bargaining power and utility outside marriage, which could adversely affect a child's wellbeing. We find empirical support for this framework by using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation in the women's religion, the state of residence, and the period of reform enforcement in Nigeria. The findings of this paper reveal that women exposed to the reforms are likely to report poor health investment and poor health outcomes in their children. The potential pathways through which the reform affects child wellbeing include early marriage entry and a decline in a woman's intra-household bargaining power. [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]

One of the pivotal decision-making tools for sustainable management of water resources for various uses is accurate prediction of water quality. In the present paper, multiple linear regression (MLR), radial basis function neural network (RBF-NN), and multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP-NN) models were developed for the monitoring and management of irrigation water quality (IWQ) in Ojoto area, southeastern Nigeria. This paper is the first to integrate and simultaneously implement these predictive methods for the modeling of seven IWQ indices. Moreover, two modeling scenarios were considered. Scenario 1 represents predictions that utilized the specific physicochemical parameters for calculating the IWQ indices as input variables while Scenario 2 represents predictions that utilized pH, EC, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-, and HCO3- as inputs. In terms of salinity hazard, most of the water resources are unsuitable/poor for irrigation. However, in terms of carbonate and bicarbonate impact and magnesium hazard, majority of the samples have good and excellent IWQ. Seven agglomerative Q-mode dendrograms spatiotemporally classified the water resources based on the IWQ indices. Model validation metrics showed that the MLR, RBF-NN, and MLP-NN models developed in the two scenarios performed well in both scenarios, with minor variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the commencement of the counterinsurgency fight against Boko Haram, the Nigerian Army has been faced with internal crises, such as corruption, poor welfare conditions for soldiers, among others, which have undermined efforts at defeating the insurgents. Military authorities have both down-played and denied these internal challenges. The result is frequent mutiny by soldiers. This paper examines the drivers, dynamics, and responses to mutiny within the Nigeria Army in the context of ongoing counterinsurgency (COIN) operation in the northeast. Anchored on the analytical framework of Tactical Communication Strategy, the paper contends that resort to mutiny is a strategy by soldiers to open up dialogue with the military authority and communicate to the public the internal factors that account for battlefield failures. Hence, the paper recommends that soldiers' welfare be given high priority rather than resort to punitive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Museums in Nigeria, as in other colonised countries across the globe, are often perceived as stemming from a Western social construct with origins in colonial administration. However, such a general notion fails to consider local ways of recording, presenting and preserving traditional artefacts: ones that specifically represent a people and its culture. During the colonial era, the establishment of museums was born out of the necessity to preserve immense collections that reflected the country's diversity and to encourage the understanding and study of Nigeria from an interior, rather than exterior, colonialist, perspective. Another motivation behind establishing museums during the colonial period was to deter pillaging and theft and encourage the repatriation of objects that were illegally removed by ethnographers and researchers in the then-British colony (Murray 1967). Nevertheless, establishing museum institutions during the colonial era catered more to white settlers than to Indigenous audiences in Nigeria, since they showcased various cultures of the host community for the enjoyment of foreigners. As a result, various communities became hesitant to release their sacred objects to western collectors and institutions; they resisted colonial collection practices because they negated local identities, sacredness and value systems. Artefacts became effectively 'encased' in museums and storage spaces, alienating them from their original identities and owners, even while held in their country of origin. This paper investigates how recontextualising the past can aid in decolonising museum spaces, specifically highlighting how the inclusion of local languages in museum exhibitions and materials can serve as one such tool. Using a case-study approach, the paper investigates how the incorporation of local languages in two public museums in Lagos, Nigeria play an important role in efforts to decolonise these institutions — and might be applied to museums elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predatory publishing is an emerging but worrisome trend among academics, including librarians, in Nigeria. It is in line with this that the paper investigated the awareness and knowledge of predatory journals among academic librarians in five selected Nigerian universities. The study is a survey design that is based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The population of the study comprised 50 academic staff that were purposively selected for the questionnaire distribution. In addition, five principal librarians, one from each of the universities, were purposively selected for the interview session. The findings of the study revealed that academic librarians are aware of the existence of predatory journals and are also aware of the negative implications of publishing in predatory journals. The study recommended an effective mentoring programme for academic librarians on how to publish their research works in accredited journals. The study contributes to knowledge by providing fresh data for policy-makers, library management and university management on ways to eradicate publishing in predatory journals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrupt acts are possibly on the increase and have hindered infrastructural development across Nigeria. This paper attempts to investigate the impact of the All Progressive Congress (ruling party) led government in the fight against corruption with emphasis on the construction sector and proffer possible policy to mitigate via unexplored dimension. Hence, phenomenology type of qualitative research was adopted to address the issues from the underlying. A connecting framework was developed from the identified root causes of the forms of corrupt acts, for better understanding as it relates to mitigating corruption in the Nigerian construction sector. From the findings, there is a need to develop a control system to evaluate corruption performance of public construction project and publish the report annually or quarterly among others is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The final issue of I African Security i for 2022 covers important themes in North and West Africa. The first paper "The end of stability: How Burkina Faso fell apart" provides a compelling analysis of how an oasis of political tranquility in conflict-prone West Africa began to unravel as it experienced major security problems. [Extracted from the article]

This paper investigated the influence of subcontracting on innovation and its impact on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Onitsha, Nigeria. The paper adopted a number of methods comprising of field observations, reference to relevant literature, and a questionnaire survey of 113 SMEs. Regression, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data. In line with the literature, this paper identified seven (7) dimensions of subcontracting assistance from large scale industries to small business firms. The paper found that subcontracting relationship between large scale industries and SMEs is inclined to production and product-related cooperation where the contractors are concerned with meeting fluctuation in demand and shortening long delivery times. This paper concluded by suggesting that subcontracting relationship between SMEs and large scale industries should not be restricted to production, purchase, finance and marketing assistance. It should also be extended to human resource development and organisational-know-how. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her groundbreaking text, Male Daughters, Female Husbands, Ifi Amadiume offers an ethnographic account which depicts, among others, gender in the making in Nnobi society in Nigeria. This paper, drawing from Amadiume's work, looks at three related specific moments of understanding gender and sex categories in a South African context. Through empirical research based on a qualitative study; a literary text; as well as visual arts, the paper tracks the notion of nongayindoda, a Nguni term for (gender) fluidity to offer new insights that go beyond Western gender binaries. Nongayindoda has been used to refer to masculine women or men-like women. In some contexts, it has been assumed to relate only to women who have chosen not to have relations with men. Some have considered the term derogatory and thus shied away from using it. In this paper, the term is turned upside and interrogated to reveal broader meanings. In the end, I argue that nongayindoda offers an opportunity to move beyond gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inadequate on-campus student accommodation in Sub-Saharan higher educational institutions triggered the need for private sector intervention in the off-campus student private housing (SPH) delivery within university communities. This paper examines students' experiences of off-campus accommodation in terms of satisfaction indicators and driving factors in a vulnerable university's communities in South-southern Nigeria. The paper drew upon a sequential exploratory mixed method, comprising semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey. The paper explored interconnectivity of satisfaction indicators and factors within the threshold of building's physical attributes, community-related attributes, contract-related covenants, academic and social environment capability, through CAQDAS; Atlas.ti. The paper found disproportionate students' satisfaction level within the filtered elements and scored the overall satisfaction low. Methodologically, a convergence of results pointing to the factors for improving physical, locational, landlord commitment to tenancy agreement on services and management, and flexible regulation of students' social activities, from the two approaches, was observed. Variation surfaces from the individual rating of each indicator and the driving factors. Five distinct recommendations emerged; policy on planning, environment, and building regulations compliance, reform on SPH governance, stakeholders democracy, parent' involvement in off-campus governance, and a committee on private housing accreditation in the university communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined scholarly publishing experience among postgraduate students in Nigerian universities. A survey design was employed, using a questionnaire as an instrument for data collection from 919 postgraduate students selected from twelve universities in Southwest Nigeria. The findings revealed that scholarly publication means the procedure of generating, producing, and judging scholarly content, distributing and circulating it to the scholarly community and conserving it for future use, and writing and publishing novel academic ideas in scholarly communication outlets. A (23.7%) of research students had published academic papers and the majority of those research students had 0–2 years' experience. Knowledge of data analysis, literature search and review, development of relevant research questions, methodology, access to relevant materials, e-mail, phone, identification of relevant keywords, and ICT skills are considered necessary for scholarly publishing. Postgraduate students are aware of predatory journals and publishers. Challenges to scholarly publishing experience are inadequate mentorship and support, skills, knowledge; lack of funds, and limited access to available materials including journal articles, databases, and others. Also, universities in Nigeria should consider funding scholarly publications for any postgraduate students that put in the effort to get published; and mentorship, support, and collaboration with supervisors should be more emphasized. [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]

Emerging economies are experiencing dramatic rises in internet penetration, along with an expansion of cyber-dependent critical infrastructure. Nevertheless, in many countries and regions, critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP) efforts remain at a relatively nascent stage. Early and widespread approaches to critical information infrastructure protection are informed by higher income, early digitising nations, which may not reflect the priorities, needs, or challenges faced by late-digitising emerging economies. This paper analyses CIIP efforts and processes in Nigeria and Egypt, considering the degree to which the standards and approaches to CIIP adopted by early digitising countries apply to each county's experience. Evidence from both countries suggests that emerging economies will not follow the same trajectory or benefit from the same lessons learned in CIIP as early digitising regions of the world. Both countries face a different mix of CII and CII-vulnerabilities, a greater emphasis on internal cyberthreats, and significant resource and capacity constraints in comparison to early digitising nations. This suggests that 'leap-frogging' may not always be possible, and innovative, context-specific CIIP policies and strategies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deadly Coronavirus pandemic is ravaging the world, with dire consequences in virtually all sectors, and across all categories of people. However, vulnerable groups such as the homeless are likely to suffer more devastating effects. Owing to the impracticability of recommended preventive measures among the homeless, they are susceptible to get infected, and possibly die of the virus. The objective of this paper is to examine the vulnerability of the homeless to coronavirus infection and how the circumstances surrounding homelessness could exacerbate the plight of this category of people. The paper relies on secondary data and adopts critical analysis in examining the plight of the homeless regarding the pandemic. It concludes that thousands of the homeless could get infected with Covid-19, and possibly die as a result of the pandemic owing to their vulnerability, occasioned by the condition of homelessness. [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]

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]

Poor uptake of agricultural innovations on weed management practices is a major factor responsible for low productivity. This paper examines how communication media can help improve farmers' adoption behaviour. A sample of 725 Nigerian cassava farmers, exposed to agricultural innovation on weed management practices from varying sources, were asked, through a structured questionnaire, to indicate their knowledge, attitudes, and practices of cassava weed management. The responses were compared with a sample of 190 cassava farmers who were not exposed to the information (control group). The data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean, analysis of variance, and multivariate probit regression. Farmers exposed to the agricultural innovation in weed management practices indicated more positive behaviour (57.7%) towards improved weed management practices than the control group (26.8%). The mean knowledge, attitude, practice, and behaviour of the farmers exposed to the innovation through demonstration was significantly higher than for other sources. On-farm demonstrations as a means of communication will enhance the uptake and effectiveness of agricultural innovation on weed management practices. Findings on the influence of communication media on improved weed control and agronomy are significant, given that there is little well-documented data on how communication media enhances technology and innovation adoption in arable crop farming. This study generates important data that reinforces the imperatives of communication and media choices, and further underpins the debate that technology alone cannot lead to uptake by farmers but needs to be communicated. [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]

Although low tax morale hits developing countries hardest, little is known about its determinants in those countries. This paper examines the impact of trust in public institutions and the neighbourhood on individual tax morale in four African countries. First, the paper provides theoretical foundations of such a relationship. Further, the paper uses the World Value Survey to estimate the effects of trust in public institutions and the neighbourhood on individual tax morale. The identification strategy employs the instrumental variables method and relies on historical data on the slave trade and the literature on the cultural heritage of trust. The paper finds that trust in public institutions and the neighbourhood are associated with tax morale in Algeria, Ghana, Morocco, and Nigeria. The findings are robust to an alternative identification strategy, additional controls, and a falsification test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the invasion of Nigeria by the colonialists and introduction of foreign religions by their missionary counterparts over a hundred years ago, it would appear that the indigenous religious practices and holies, especially in Igboland have fallen Jericho-wise. Alas, this is far from the truth. A deep and careful study of Igboland reveals that notwithstanding the seeming massive conversion to the missionary religions and urbanisation, there still exist substantial vestages and elements of indigenous religious practices, holies and belief system of the people so converted. Evidences abound that the people regularly patronise indigenous worship centres, engaging in indigenous prayers while seeking solutions to the challenges that they confront on a daily basis. The paper makes a finding that the presence of the missionary religions, urbanisation and other agents of change have not provided the people with holistic answers or solutions to their problems, making the people resort to the patronage of indigenous worship and worship centres. The paper makes use of document analysis, interviews and observation as methods of data gathering, anchored on the change theory framework and adopting the qualitative/ethnographic approach in its data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing from the theory of social exchange and the theory of self-efficacy, there are two components to the objective of this paper: to investigate the impact of HR practices on employee service innovative behavior (ESIB) of hotel employees and to explore the moderating effect of creative self-efficacy (CSE) in this relationship. We hypothesized that hotel employees would demonstrate high ESIB should the relationship between HR practices and service innovative behavior is higher among employees with high CSE. Accordingly, survey data were collected from 293 employees and 101 immediate supervisors from 20 3-star hotels in Nigeria. The proposed model was then analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0. We found that hotel employee perceptions of information sharing, training, and development, and supportive supervision were directly and positively related to ESIB. However, the relationship between compensation system and ESIB was not supported in this study. In addition, the effects of training, compensation system, and supportive supervision on ESIB were moderated by CSE, in such a way that these relationships had stronger effects on the ESIB of employees with high levels of CSE rather than employees with low levels of CSE. Therefore, it is essential that the management invest in employees' growth and development, particularly through information sharing, training and development, and supportive supervision in driving innovative behavior among its employees; and thus, the management should also be concerned about the levels of CSE in order to improve the ESIB of its employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mediatization has often been viewed as a western phenomenon with scholars focusing largely on the relationship between the media and politics, especially in the United States and Europe where the concept originated. However, globalization and its attendant impacts have allowed for the intercourse of ideas and disciplines across borders. The concept of mediatization is not an exception in this regard. The rise of television news, increased media influence, and dependence on media logic have arguably become a global trend. Mediatization is a perspective that can be used to understand the roles of the media in society and politics, especially electoral campaigns and their dynamics across the world. This paper attempts a review of mediatization and politics in Nigeria. It examines the nature of political news journalism in the country; the character and structure of media ownership; the influence that the media wields on the Nigerian society among other key features that reflect meditatization of politics in the country. The paper argues that indeed, the Nigerian media reveals different dimensions of the mediatization of politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates the issue of deviance and moral panics associated with popular music production in Nigeria. Relying on qualitative and netnographic data, the paper explores contested perspectives on the music of Naira Marley, which is generally laden with censured themes of vulgarity, substance abuse, and loose sexuality. Naira Marley's music has generated much moral controversy in Nigeria owing mainly to media criticisms, which follow from the bizarre subcultural lifestyles of his fans (i.e., the deviant Marlians) that imitate and idolise him. Although a few texts on Naira Marley exist, none focus on deviance and moral panics. Following debates on and around social reactions to popular music's subcultural morality, we discuss the politics of nonconformity and anti-establishmentarian music production in Nigeria and contend that while the moral judgement of Marley's music content is relative, its deviant mannerism is structurally functional. In other words, the music creates moral panics and advocates social change because its seemingly deviant themes resonate with economically disadvantaged Nigerians who patronise it as a form of escapism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A region-adaptive hierarchical framework for realizing Sustainable Development Goal 7.3 is proposed in this paper, using Nigeria as a case study for strategy adoption and adaptation. In 2013, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) rolled out strategic plans to phase out incandescent lamps by 2020, as a critical component essential to realizing the SDG 7 by 2030. However, at the expiration of the 2020 deadline, this ambition has not materialized. Current regulatory indicators for sustainable energy shared by the World Bank and the International Energy Agency (IEA) indicated poor-to-average performances among member states, which suggests the need to adopt ingenious strategies to increase electricity access and accelerate energy efficiency by 2030. In this paper, we systematically reviewed literatures on past campaigns in ECOWAS member states and inferentially call for a revisit of the campaign to phase out incandescent bulbs as a critical component for achieving energy efficiency. The paper also pinpoints some domain factors that are militating against the realization of SDG 7 in Nigeria. We proposed an all-inclusive top-down hierarchical framework which involve all relevant stakeholders (national, state and local governments, delineated wards in local governments, street representatives and household heads), civil society organizations, and educational institutions, for convergence, efficient collaboration, synergy and achievement of goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines China's engagement with Nigeria in the area of petroleum production and the need for harnessing local initiatives for petroleum refining. This is important because even though Nigeria is a major exporter of crude oil it remains an importer of refined petroleum products to meet domestic needs. With the aid of secondary data sourced from journal articles, books and reports of local and international organisations, this paper examines how China–Nigeria relations contribute to meeting the need for refined petroleum in Nigeria and how harnessing local initiatives can improve the situation in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Air Force in Nigeria is a compelling subject for sociological enquiry, with an entirely different formative process to the Army. At its inception in 1964, Army officers, not career airmen, commanded the force until 1975. However, whereas the Army cast a long shadow over NAF identity, the Air Force had other institutional pathologies. The "Quota System" of ethnicized recruitment within the military, introduced to balance out ethnic representation, was one such issue. The paper examines how this system, along with the tumultuous politics of 1960s Nigeria, ethnicism and Army influence, shaped the NAF's formative years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On whether governments should grant state forgiveness to insurgents amid the popularity of amnesty, justice advocates have cautioned that amnesties could be instrumentalised to muddle accountability. This paper demonstrates how domestic peace processes could mimic existing power inequalities, thereby including some groups and excluding others from state forgiveness. By examining the differential treatment of insurgent groups in Nigeria, this paper unpacks how ethnic politics and resource dependence led to amnesties for Boko Haram and the Niger Delta militants, and how the absence of oil and political connections leave Biafra agitators with nothing to exchange for state amnesty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of employee voice in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across national contexts remains under-theorised and under-studied. This paper uses Kaufman's integrative model of employee voice, and an exploratory study of 30 interviews with employees in non-unionised SMEs in the United Kingdom, Thailand and Nigeria, to compare the employee experience with voice, and the impact of this experience on voice behaviour at work. Findings show that the interaction between the external institutional context and internal SME context (organisational configuration, governance structure and internal contingencies in the employment relationship) impacts employee voice agency, the perceived levels of voice and, ultimately, employee voice behaviour. The paper contributes to employee voice theory by offering an analysis of voice determinants on voice behaviour specific to non-unionised SMEs from an international comparative employee perspective, presents these in an initial framework and explains how employees experience voice in small workplaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informed by the work of Alistair Anderson on entrepreneurship as embedded in institutional contexts, this paper explores the experiences of 30 women micropreneurs in rural South-East Nigeria. These women are amongst the poorest people in the world and live in an environment marginalized from formal institutions, where informal ones are prioritized, and where culture and tradition reflect patriarchal limitations on their activities and experiences. We find that while microfinance is often cited as one of the key mitigators of institutional voids and an important support for entrepreneuring in deprived contexts, in fact there are critical barriers to uptake and socio-cultural conditions are found to limit the extent to which women trust and engage with microfinance. To that end, new methodologies that might mitigate perceived risks, including deepening poverty, are called for. Implications for those who would support enterprise in poverty circumstances in developing nations include that to be effective they must engage with the socio-cultural institutions and lived realities amongst the people they seek to serve. Alongside this, further application and development of the approaches to studying entrepreneurship in marginalized environments that Alistair was such as central contributor to are advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and pattern of sustenance of democratic rule in Nigeria since the inception of the fourth republic which followed the exit of military rulers in 1999 have continued to generate scholarly debates. The conundrum of whether or not the country has freed itself from the ominous influence of the culture of military rule is a huge concern. Using former President Obasanjo and current President Buhari as case studies, this article examines the extent to which the reemergence of Nigeria's former military Heads of State as civilian administrators since 1999 has affected constitutionalism and democratization in Nigeria's political leadership. The patterns of administration of civilian government as well as democratic infractions of both regimes are considered. The paper relies on secondary data and the descriptive method of analysis. The Military Transition Model, a strand of Transition Theory, was used as a framework for further clarification. Rather than improve on the tenets of democracy, findings show that elements of absolutism and arbitrary rule are strongly perceptible. There are no convincing proofs that the reappearance of Nigeria's former military rulers into political leadership is reinforcing the country's long awaited democratization processes. The current political leadership in Nigeria has not demonstrated sufficient political will to eschew the dregs of contempt for rule of law. The study concludes that problems of democratic infractions are prevalent in the current political system largely due to the persisting influence of military culture of political leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines how displacement has exacerbated poverty among internally displaced people (IDPs) in Nigeria. While there has been significant research on IDPs in Nigeria, studies specifically addressing the relationship between displacement and poverty are scarce. This survey was conducted in five locations: Tse Yandev in Benue State, Durumi Area One in Abuja, Rann in Borno State, Nbyiro in Adamawa State, and Government Lodge in Yobe State. Twenty five informants were purposively selected for the study, and thematic analysis was employed. The findings reveal a high incidence of poverty among IDPs due to their lack of access to basic necessities such as shelter, food, and clothing. It was gathered that people become dislocated when they are internally displaced. This condition has heightened the poverty situation that many in Nigeria find themselves in. It was also established that dislocation never left anyone the same. Rather, it either makes them poorer or simply makes their condition worse. Recommendations are also provided for addressing these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deliberate efforts of Nigerian World War II veterans to advance their material interests amid the wave of radical anticolonial nationalism helped them to mediate colonial rule in Nigeria. Most literature on World War II and nationalism in Nigeria portrays veterans as objects of nationalist mobilization. Drawing on colonial records and newspapers from archives in Nigeria and the United States, this paper argues that Nigerian veterans were far more interested in their social and material interests than being objects of radical anticolonial nationalist mobilization in postwar Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIntroductionResultsDiscussionThis paper reviews the literature on suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, suicide methods and correlates of suicidality among Nigerian LGBT persons. Understanding the suicidality-related issues facing LGBT Nigerians can inform the designing of evidence-based interventions to reduce suicidality.Findings revealed that Nigerian LGBT persons experienced self-harm, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and the repetition of suicidal behavior using suicide methods such as pesticide self-poisoning, jumping, hanging, and overdose of medicines. LGBT persons who attempted suicide more than once reported experiencing different forms of minority stress. Several LGBT suicide attempters and ideators reported experiencing prior internalized homophobia, anti-LGBT bullying in schools and the larger society, anti-LGBT discrimination from family and conversion therapy. Minority stress was found to be linked with self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Nigerian LGBT persons. Additionally, experiencing anti-LGBT discrimination, conversion therapy and depression were found to be correlates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among Nigerian LGBT persons.This study highlights the importance of addressing the minority stress experienced by Nigerian LGBT persons in order to reduce their vulnerability to suicidality. Finally, this study highlights research gaps and discusses the implications of the study findings for suicide prevention interventions, advocacy and policy making in Nigeria. [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]

How does a terror movement like Boko Haram employ language and discourse towards collective action? This is the central question our paper addresses. Focusing on Boko Haram as a militant jihādist social movement organisation (SMO), our article shows how the movement's ideology, evidenced through its discourse, "frames" narratives that identify the problem, call for action and motivate adherents and potential recruits towards violent repertoires. Using interview data, critical discourse analysis (CDA) and Social Movement Theory (SMT), specifically framing analysis, we interrogate Boko Haram's Qur'anic exegesis based on the group's publications, exhortations, lectures and sermons between 2008 and 2016. Along with calls for jihād (holy war, within the movement's interpretation) and criticism of Nigeria's federal constitution vis-à-vis Sharī'a (Islamic law) as a superior social alternative, Boko Haram employs a specific takfir (apostate declaration) doctrine that divides the world into two camps: unbelievers (al-kāfirūn) or (kuffar) and believers. Such identity construction constitutes part of a "framing" approach to mobilisation and recruitment. In this sociological analysis of Boko Haram's discourse, we identify diagnostic, prognostic and motivational "framing" patterns employed alongside an injustice master frame as a means to encourage collective action by the "in-group" (adherents and potential recruits) against "out-group" identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the years, the Nigerian Governments have made several attempts to address the deficit in low-cost housing (LCH) provision via various housing policies but failed. Thus, the need to investigate the encumbrances faced with the LCH policy and proffer pragmatic policy solutions so that low-income earners can gain access to homes in Edo State, Nigeria. A phenomenology type of qualitative research was adopted. To achieve this, 12 face-to-face interviews were conducted, and saturation accomplished. The data was validated via secondary sources, analysed by MAXQDA 2018 and supported with thematic analysis. The study found that the Edo State have admirable housing policy on paper but due to some challenges such as relaxed housing policy implementation, corruption, inadequate fund, 'act of political will' among others, implementation has been fruitless. As part of the practical implications, this paper would stir-up policymakers in the formulation of policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child marriage is a problem that has continued to attract global attention. The media have been identified as critical to the fight against the scourge as it discusses the capacity to raise awareness of the issue as well as trigger action in solving the problem. The report of the alleged abduction of a minor, Ese Oruru by one Yunusa Dahiru for marriage jolted the nation and sparked public outcry for her release. This study explored newspaper framing of the incident. Drawing from qualitative frame analysis, it examined how Punch and Daily Trust newspapers framed the alleged abduction saga. The study found that there was contrastive framing of the incident with Punch newspaper portraying the issue as abduction while Daily Trust newspaper depicted it as elopement. The influence of socio-cultural leanings of these papers on the contrastive framing is discussed. The implication of the divergent framing of the saga on the fight against child marriage is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of social capital on livelihood outcomes of households forcibly displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast Nigeria. Drawing from in-depth interviews of 21 respondents and a cross-sectional survey of 810 household heads across 12 locations in Northeast Nigeria, the study finds that social capital provides a channel of critical psycho-social support for households. Further, the results of the structural-equation modelling indicate that bridging-linking social capital has a strong positive impact on livelihood outcomes, while the impact of bonding social capital on livelihood outcomes is partially mediated by resilience. The study contributes to recent conversations on the imperative of a triple-nexus strategy by highlighting the unique roles that social capital can play in complementary humanitarian, developmental and peace-building programming, especially in protracted crises and contexts of forced displacement where short-term material and financial interventions may not be adequate. The paper also offers practical and policy recommendations and suggestions for future research on operationalisation of social capital in protracted crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper appraises the phenomenon of campus secret cults in Nigeria. Specifically, the paper sets off by exploring various definitions of secret cults before tracing the history of campus cults in Nigerian higher institutions. The paper identifies various reasons for the emergence of secret cults and discusses the consequences of cult activities on the Nigerian educational system. For a lasting solution to the problem, the paper recommends the establishment of a structure which will recognize the existence and operation of fraternities on campuses with the main objective of re-structuring, monitoring and regulating their activities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illuminates the interconnections between the Nigerian government's failure to satisfactorily address the ever-rising violence linked to herder-farmer conflicts and the emergence of vigilante security measures at the geo-regional level. It also examines the overall implications of vigilante security measures vis-à-vis security challenges in Nigeria. The paper finds that the predisposition to, and adoption of vigilante security strategies is indicative of the failure of formal security apparatuses to live up to their constitutional mandates. The paper recommends preventive and inclusive policing as well as strict adherence to the tenets of justice in line with the rule of law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]