Search

Non-state armed groups (NSAGs) are a prominent phenomenon in the discourse on security in Africa. They serve as either anti-state agents orchestrating violence or fill security void by complementing state security. This paper analyzes the activities of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) as a variant of non-state armed groups within the context of community-based counterterrorism initiative in Borno State, Nigeria. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussion in selected communities affected by Boko Haram. The findings revealed that the use of the CJTF yielded positive results as they helped the military in intelligence gathering, knowledge of the landscape, translation of the local language, and identification of Boko Haram members within the community and in combat operations. Challenges, such as the highhandedness and deceitful nature of some members, hampered the utility of the CJTF. The paper concludes that the CJTF as a community-based response to security underscores citizens as active agents, not mere passive victims in the fight against terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Critical African Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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 paper examined the relevance of the Vulnerability to Food Insecurity Index (VFII) in practice for households in South-South region of Nigeria. The main objectives were to verify the result of the VFII with real life experience and to understand why households are vulnerable to food insecurity using qualitative insight. The paper applied both quantitative and qualitative methods. The main findings reveal that the indictors of the index were able to reflect real-life experiences on the ground. However, applying the index to local community requires greater consideration of the heterogeneous population and relative importance of indicators. Thus flexible weight system is recommended when the index depends on local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advent of the coronavirus pandemic marked a watershed in Nigeria's socio-economic and political milieu, as it created panic in states. Security governance is one of the ingredients of peace and stability in society, but problems sometimes emanate from law enforcement lapses. This paper examined Nigeria's security governance dilemmas during the lockdown enforcement aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 and highlighted the key lessons from the government's approach to security governance during the period. Data are gathered through in-depth interviews, media reports and secondary sources. The qualitative paper combined non-killing theory and social contract theory. There were looting of shops, robbery, and killing by security forces, in Lagos, Warri, Aba, Umuahia and other cities during the lockdown owing to the problem of footprint/access. The findings revealed that, despite surveillance efforts, security governance was undermined by the activities of idle youths, non-state armed groups, and unprofessionalism of security forces. While there was a remarkable decrease in crimes compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, the lockdown did not deter troublemakers from engaging in violent acts, such as armed robbery, police violence, and kidnapping. Adequate palliatives should be provided first at high-risk areas during future lockdowns to prevent security threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unarguably, hip hop has a wide acceptance among Nigerians. One of the obvious reasons for this is its fusion with some aspects of indigenous cultures and experiences. Despite the existence of several scholarly engagements on linguistic and identity formations in hip hop in Nigeria, there is however a need to further explore how the emerging urban youth lifestyles are coded in hip hop metaphor. Hence, in this paper, I focus on the music of Abolore Akande (9ice) and his use of metaphors to discuss urban lifestyles in the Nigerian social space. Through a qualitative analysis of his song texts, using Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory, I argue that these metaphors and their conceptual domains are discursive paradigms through which certain notions about sex, gender, social status and crime in contemporary Nigeria can be graphically visualized and understood. I conclude that rather than regarding them as meaningless, unmotivated or bare linguistic practices instantiated only for aesthetic consumption, metaphors in Naija hip hop are significant in grounding and projecting the thriving urban social realities in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just like in 1984 and 2003 when Nigeria's borders were closed to the neighbouring countries, the closure of Nigeria's land border since August 2019 which is intended to combat smuggling of goods and to boost manufacturing and agricultural production has been subject of controversy. This paper observes that although the border closure may have brought some advantages in the area of increased revenue, numerous seizures of illegal materials and encourages local production of rice, the appraisal of the legal, economic, political and security implications however reveal that despite the perceived advantages, it may not be the best option. It concedes that the closure of the Nigerian borders is an exercise within its sovereign authority; but however, notes that the effect of an arbitrary border closure without sufficient notice adversely affects the interests of genuine businessmen as this amounts to a breach of their fundamental right of doing legitimate business across the border. It recommends viable legal options which the government can explore in line with standard global practice such as systemic efforts to boost the economy, by ensuring effective control, management, monitoring and protection of the border. It calls for regional integration and less burdensome procedures without undermining national interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The empirical literature on plot-level adoption of sustainable intensification technologies (SITs), as a package comprising improved crop varieties and good agronomic management practices is thin for dryland crops, such as sorghum. In this paper, we analyze the adoption and impacts of SITs on sorghum yield and net revenue using data from a sample of 1680 households and 3310 plots in the sorghum belt of Nigeria. Our estimates are based on a multinomial endogenous switching regression, which accounts for observable and unobservable sources of selection bias. We find a relatively low joint adoption of both improved sorghum varieties and good agronomic practices. In addition, we find that the adoption of only improved sorghum varieties and the joint adoption of both improved sorghum varieties and good agronomic practices led to a 56 and 102% increase in sorghum yield, respectively, and an 88 and 82% increase in net revenue, respectively. The yield and net revenue effects indicate that there are considerable missing opportunities that sorghum-producing households can harness through the adoption of SITs. Our findings reveal that policies tailored towards promoting the widespread adoption of SITs can lead to considerable productivity gains and economic returns for smallholder sorghum farmers towards improving their welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the development of social work education in most African countries has been strongly influenced by and modeled upon Western knowledge and pedagogy. Social work education has not been the product of a progressive indigenous social transformation but rather that of foreign practices imposed on African societies. This paper, therefore, examines the contribution of western pedagogy and knowledge in the development of social work education in Nigeria. In-depth interviews were used to collect data from eight purposively selected social work educators and thematically analysed. Findings show that the curriculum that is used in Nigerian social work education is designed in line with European culture and orientation. Also, most textbooks used for social work education in Nigeria are from the Western context and thus, have not been able to aptly address the unique issues, culture, and behavioural patterns of Nigeria. Therefore, there is the need for transformation of Nigerian social work education from being Western-centric to being Afro-centric while accommodating the relevance of its Western-centric origin. It is recommended that indigenous knowledge and culture should be incorporated and integrated into social work education in Nigeria to reflect and stimulate services that are culturally and nationally compatible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death among the Igbo is not the end of existence but is seen as an access road to the otherworld. Hence it is seen as the spin-off of the send-forth of the dead to the next phase of existence more commonly known as ancestry. This send-forth, defined in the framework of funeral encodes a chain of creative and spontaneous acts and actions which tend to democratise the pain of death and the burden of attendant funeral in line with the principles of Igbo thanatology. Furthermore, if art can be spontaneous, then some of the activities that characterise the funeral arena can be seen as creative actions arising from the agency of death. But even at that, they are not a frivolous affair devoted to mere jolitty and fanfare. Rather, Igbo funerals help to demonstrate the interface of this life and the next through culturally coded actions and performances that approximate some of the essences of art in their outlook and content. This paper examines the processes of dying and death and the politics of after-death in Igbo land with the attendant renegotiation of reality as well as the evolution of funeral in Igbo land in the mill of postcoloniality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human resources are recognized as the ultimate and most indispensable resource in economic development. In this study, an inquiry was made to ascertain the determinants of workers' innovativeness. A survey of 229 respondents in food and beverage processing firms selected through random and snowballing sampling techniques was implemented. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation model. Findings reveal that though personal, family, organizational and social factors were hypothesized to be influencing the ability of employees to innovate, only family (β = 0.358; p < 0.001) and organizational (β = 0.213; p < 0.01) factors showed a significant and positive influence on employees' innovativeness. The paper concludes that the support employees received from their homes and organizations is crucial and contributed significantly to their innovative ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we theorize a novel mechanism by which technology-based banking services – automated teller machines (ATMs), point of sale (POS), mobile and internet banking – stimulate bank deposit growth based on observed practical experiences. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds-testing and Granger causality approach were used to analyze the short-run, long-run and causal relationships among the variables for the period of 2006 quarter 1 to 2019 quarter 4. Since a long-run cointegrating relationship exists among the variables, the study proceeded with an error correction model (ECM). The results of the ARDL-ECM based analysis revealed that number of ATMs and value of POS transactions have a significant positive relationship with total bank deposits in Nigeria, both in the short run and long run. Those of mobile and internet banking were found to be negative and insignificant signifying that there is still low penetration of mobile and internet banking in Nigeria. Also, the Granger causality test result revealed that only the number of ATMs has a causal influence on bank deposits, suggesting that continuous deployment of ATMs by commercial banks is seen as the best strategy to boost deposit growth. Based on the findings, the study recommends that banks in Nigeria need to partner with the telecommunication sector to improve their network coverage and provide a fast and reliable network that is necessary for mobile and internet banking to thrive. [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]

The health burden due to mental health has historically been underestimated with focus on communicable diseases and deaths and little consideration of disability and comorbidity effects of poor mental health. Recent data show increasing trends of mental health disorders as a share of global health burdens and vulnerability of adolescents. This paper aims to explore social determinants of mental health as experienced by adolescent girls, drawing attention to gendered risks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews with twenty-two adolescent girls in urban informal settlements in Kenya and Nigeria reveal unique environmental, socio-cultural, economic and educational factors that threatened their mental wellbeing. The pandemic exacerbated these determinants. An equitable recovery will require a consideration of not only disproportional mental health outcomes, but also social determinants that contribute to these outcomes. As more than half of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa reside in informal settlements, this study has implications for youth-focused mental health interventions in these and similar settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow pace of improvement in service delivery and health outcomes for pregnant women and newborns in developing countries has been a major concern for policy makers in recent decades. This paper presents the results from a randomized controlled trial of a community health worker program designed to enhance uptake of child and maternal health services in Northern Nigeria. Three interventions were evaluated: the deployment of community health educators, health educators with the provision of safe birth kits, and health educators with community dramas. The results suggest that the interventions increased utilization of antenatal, postnatal, and infant care. Maternal and newborn health practices improved as well as health knowledge. In addition, the community health worker program was more effective when supplemented with additional program components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does a proliferation of activist or advocacy non-governmental organisations (NGOs) indicate greater power to pressure multinationals to behave responsibly? This paper answers this question by exploring how multinational oil companies deploy corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a tool to shape the nature of resistance to their disruptive impacts on extractive contexts in Africa. It focusses in particular on their role in building NGO networks and uses evidence from the activities of Chevron in Nigeria's Niger Delta to show how these networks have become new sites through which multinational corporations exercise hegemonic power over the resistance landscape in the region. It concludes that NGO density – in spite of its appearance of facilitating greater participation – has little impact on the power dynamics in extractive contexts, on the logics of extraction and on the medium-term stability of the sector. What it does achieve is the construction of a gentrified 'resistance and engagement' landscape that is bureaucratised and middle-class driven, that excludes key actors and that is inevitably sympathetic to the oil industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores high school libraries and science literacy in South West Nigeria. Availability of human and material resources, attitudes of science students toward the use of libraries, and possible suggestions for improvement of school libraries were examined. Data were collected from six high schools in two states in the south-western part of Nigeria. Quantitative surveys were carried out with three hundred (300) science students. Qualitative data were gathered from student focus groups and semi-structured interviews with thirty (30) students. Illustrative quotes are reported extensively in the paper. The comments were transcribed and coded to identify common themes and factors. The study confirms that there is a wide gap between policy and implementation. This gap is attributable to; lack of resource, inadequate reading space, limited reading time, non-digitization of the libraries etc. The study shows that there is a need for effective implementation of government policies to achieve improved scientific literacy rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thallium (Tl) in environmental media poses great threat to the environment and human health. Contamination, toxicity and potential ecological and health risks of thallium associated with mining activities were studied in this paper. Results showed that the average content of Tl in tailings, rocks, groundwater, surface water and mine water in Anka area are 7.89 μg/g, 8.82 μg/g, 0.04 μg/g, 0.006 μg/g, and 0.048 μg/g, respectively while in Ijero area, the mean concentration of Tl in tailings, rocks, groundwater, surface water and minewater are 9.78 μg/g; 18.99 μg/g; 0.004 μg/g; 0.003 μg/g and 0.03 μg/g respectively. The percentage concentration of K, Ca, Na an Mg in soils of the area are 0.66, 15.37, 0.42 and 3.21 while in sediments their concentrations are 0.74, 12.61, 0.59, and 2.61. In the tailings, the percentage concentration of K, Ca, Na and Mg are 0.81, 16.68, 0.68 and 2.97 respectively. Tl concentrations from the media are mainly from artisanal mining and mineral processing of gold (Au), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and minerals associated with pegmatites. Single factor pollution index is greater than 1 and revealed that soils and sediments are uncontaminated by Tl while tailings and water are contaminated by it. Tl was highly available in plants of the area and the content of Tl exceeded the recommended limits. Also, the daily intake of the metal is above the recommended limit. Tl poses low to very high ecological and health risk in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper documents environmental health conditions and healthcare access challenges faced by internally displaced people (IDPs) from Borno State living in informal settlements in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study with 32 IDPs suggests a high vulnerability to COVID-19. Their accommodation often lacked basic sanitation including water and toilet facilities; overcrowding and high population density restricted ability to adhere to social distancing; and IDPs experienced serious consequences from lockdown, as the majority depended on daily wages, and did not receive food packages or other support from the State. Finally, there were obstacles to accessing healthcare. We highlight the importance of an integrated approach, consolidating the efforts of communities, non-governmental organisations, environmental and public health, and international organisations to address the health and well-being issues of IDPs in urban informal settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female Internet use is at a low ebb in less developed countries, which means that females cannot participate effectively in a digital society. Consequently, this paper examined the patterns, constraints and drivers of female Internet use in Nigeria. Using spatial and aspatial techniques, we uncover spatial hot and cold spots while logistic regression analysis found that wealth status, urbanity, age, women's autonomy, and education significantly predict female Internet use. The study recommends that emphasis should be placed on gender equality and urban digital inclusion to increase female Internet use in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I examine portraits in Nigeria's banknotes offering an interpretive analysis of their significance with the purpose of espousing on existing knowledge. I believe the reading and interpretation of these portraits would provide a good communication and understanding of their socio-political and nationalistic properties. Located at the interface between visuality and society this paper discursively examines the repertoire of 10 portraits of Nigeria's 'nationalists'. My reading is based on nationalism, historiography, and iconology. The socio-political reflection in these portraits offers relevant clues to the current developments in Nigeria. Beyond being just images on the economic tool of money, the portraits act as indicators of Nigeria's socio-political formation and historical trajectory. Understanding this might help to improve politics and society in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reintegration in conflict settings poses significant challenges. In Nigeria, while much emphasis is placed on deradicalising and rehabilitating former Boko Haram members, including combatants and their families, the community seems to receive minimal priority concerning the traumatic experience they face and its impact on limiting reintegration. This paper makes an original contribution by using an interpretative phenomenological analytical lens to explore community members who are victims with lived experiences of trauma in conflict settings. The study draws on semi-structured interviews with 30 participants recruited from Bornu, Adamawa and Kaduna states. Based on the analysed data, the study found that trauma limits reintegration and fuels scepticism about the genuine reform of the former Boko Haram members and combatants. Trauma was also perceived to transcend the immediate victims and extend to the community. We recommend a trauma-informed cognitive behavioural therapy intervention to create a positive outlook that encourages reintegration and reduces potential recidivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of an increasing shift from international interventionism based on liberal peacebuilding to shorter-term stabilisation efforts, this article questions the persistence of the security–development nexus as a theoretical framework backing military and non-military action in conflict-affected areas. It argues that the nexus has been weakened by the prominence gained by regional and national actors on the African continent trying to enforce 'African solutions to African problems'. Drawing on interviews with key informants and mobilising relevant primary and secondary literature, the paper explores how ad hoc military coalitions created by African states to respond to crises on the continent are sanctioning the transition from long-term peacebuilding to short-term stabilisation objectives. Analysing the Nigerian government's counterinsurgency strategy against Boko Haram, we argue that the country has completely dropped the ambition to tackle the root causes of the insurgency, and has instead turned to short-term (and short-sighted) security stabilisation operations in line with the global trend of disengagement from active peacebuilding and development promotion. Thereby, we contend that the adoption of this kind of 'African solutions to African problems' equals militarised crisis-management in the continent's peripheries without advancing sustainable solutions to conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses how an alcohol industry-sponsored 'Nigerian Beer Symposium' (NBS) could endanger public health. The NBS, an annual one-day symposium, sponsored by Heineken-Nigerian Breweries, was recently introduced to create awareness of the 'health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption'. Amongst other resource persons, Heineken-Nigerian Breweries contracts professors, medical doctors, nutritionists, advertisers, and celebrities from Africa and Europe to discuss the health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption. While all of the speakers strategically focused on the health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption, a few, in passing, mentioned drinking in moderation. In particular, male speakers focused on how beer prevents cancer, reduces the incidence of kidney stones, enhances vitality and cardiovascular health, and facilitates longevity and cognition among the aged. The female speakers encouraged women to consume beer because it enhances vitality and improves skin/physical beauty. Overall, none of the speakers specifically mentioned the consequences of alcohol (mis)use. This paper argues that the NBS is strategically organised to encourage beer initiation and/or high consumption, which will increase the sponsor's profit. By providing biased information about the purported health and nutritional benefits of beer, the NBS will mislead the public, leading to more alcohol-related problems in Nigeria. Therefore, NBS should be regulated by implementing WHO-recommended alcohol policies in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil and Gas exploration and exploitations have been ongoing over the past fifty years in Nigeria from the first major discovery of oil in commercial quantity in Oloibiri, Bayelsa State in 1956. Decommissioning is a tedious and complicated process which needs strict laws and regulations to ensure environmental protection among other issues. When an oil and gas installation reaches the end of its productive life, the need to remove such installations from the environment becomes necessary, hence the importance for the existence of national laws and regulations. The paper therefore examines Nigeria's treaty obligations under the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf (GCS) 1958, The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and the London Dumping Convention 1972 among others. The paper adopts the doctrinal method through the use of Statutes, Cases, Treaties and Conventions to buttress the argument. The paper finds that the absence of a national legislation on decommissioning in Nigeria has led to failure in provision of regulations in dealing with the complexities associated with decommissioning. It concludes by making recommendations for Nigeria to ensure the implementation of these international legal instruments through the process of domestication under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) 1999 to bring into existence a national legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arrest of ship regime is a critical aspect of global shipping and international trade. In settling maritime or trade disputes, arrest of ship is a crucial pre-judgment instrument usually deployed to secure the appearance of ship owners and it also acts as security for the claimants' claim. This paper critically examines the arrest regime in Nigeria to determine the possibility of the country becoming the destination of forum shopping for maritime dispute resolution. This paper submits that a liberal and comprehensive arrest legal regime is pivotal in establishing Nigeria as the hub of global ship arrest adjudication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives an overview of organizational innovation practices within the context of a developing country, Nigeria. Using innovation survey data from 2008 and 2011, the paper provides an analysis of the complementarity or otherwise of organizational innovation practices used by manufacturing and service firms in the country. The consistent co-occurrence of different organizational innovation practices suggests that they are complements rather than substitutes. Results of our multivariate probit analysis show a clear pattern in the manufacturing sector, with complementarity between all the organizational innovation practices. There are however marked differences between the manufacturing and service sectors, suggesting that innovation policies should be sector-specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adapts a qualitative-dominant mixed method approach by utilizing policy documents, semi-structured interviews, a focus group discussion, and structured questionnaires (SQs) to explore the different bottlenecks that impedes the education-National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)-work transition, with a specific focus on the NYSC route. This paper reveals that youth’s (aged 18-30) ability to navigate the formal education phase partly depends on multi-stakeholder contributions that provide support structures to ensure youths obtain a tertiary degree before age 30. Successful completion of the formal education phase makes them eligible to be mobilized for 1-year mandatory service. While in the NYSC route, youth capability development programmes ensure that youths are further developed and deployed to opportunity structures needed to address national development needs. The challenge however is that both state mobilization processes and deployment practice create restrictive opportunity concerns that impede the effective functioning and freedoms for youth capabilities to thrive. This paper broadly contributes to human resource development practice by utilizing a youth capability analytic framework to better understand how well youth capabilities can be further developed and strategically aligned in addressing complex national development challenges as youth navigate the education-NYSC-work transition pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need for clean innovative energy systems is widely recognized amidst increasing concerns over energy insecurity, climate change and other environmental impacts of a carbon-constrained economy. Several renewable energy technologies such as small hydropower (SHP) are poised to play a critical role in the transition to a low-carbon future in Nigeria. The technically exploitable small hydro capability in Nigeria is high but underutilized in spite of the recent power sector reform of the government. The main objective of this paper is to trace the evolution of small hydropower and determine what component of the interactive learning mechanisms would result in the most significant outcome. The paper also maps out the networks of actors and linkages among those involved in the development and deployment of SHP technology in Nigeria. The study assesses the innovation process of the key stakeholders on models of sustainable SHP in the country. In the final assessment, the study identifies four models with firm-driven and a hybrid of policy and donor-driven models producing the most significant outcome. The findings of this study suggest that SHP could play an important role in remote off-grid communities as well as grid-based power generation. However, barriers such as low level of technological capability, lack of up-to-date sound technical and financial analysis and low investment have hindered its deployment. This paper concludes by outlining several policy priorities that would entrench sustainable SHP for multiple societal and economic development objectives in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of touts, otherwise known as Agberos or Area Boys, has been a marked feature of the mega-city of Lagos in recent years. The activities of these touts are visible in particular in motor parks, at bus-stops, in markets and on the streets. This paper provides a historical survey of the origin and expansion of the menace of touts in Lagos, with specific reference to Shomolu Local Government Area, from its creation in 1976 to the present. A study on Shomolu area adds to the existing literature on Lagos touts as the area is located in the mainland part of Lagos, whereas existing works on the subject focus more on the Lagos Island area. Through a detailed analysis of the Shomolu example, the paper provides a description and analysis of the activities and cultural expressions of the Area Boys, and argues that while economic, psychological and environmental factors are major causes of gangsterism and crime, whether a youth becomes a tout and criminal or not is also based on rationality and choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable Development Principles are fundamental to addressing environmental protection issues in Nigeria's oil industry. The paper examined sustainable development in its globally accepted meaning. Furthermore, this principle of environmental protection has in recent years evolved into international standards popularly called global best practices. The objective of the paper is to examine the sustainable development principle and its relevance in addressing the environmental challenges in Nigeria's oil industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)-Bounds testing approach, and using GDP – excluding the contributions from oil and gas, as well as the financial services sector – as the growth indicator between 1969 and 2008, the paper establishes a long-run relationship between economic growth and financial liberalisation, which is represented by an index. This index is calculated by using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The paper finds that financial liberalisation policies have a positive and significant effect on economic growth in Nigeria – both in the short run and in the long run. The study, therefore, recommends that appropriate financial liberalisation policies should be pursued in Nigeria, in order to foster economic growth. However, considering the fact that financial markets are prone to market failures, the study cautions against adopting a laissez-faire approach to financial reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights are fundamental human rights. Previous studies on gender and sexuality in displacement settings have often focused on sexual and gender-based violence and the reproductive health problems of women while underplaying their needs for sexual expression, pleasure and procreation. This paper examines the influence of conflict and displacement on gender relations, sexuality and natality of internally displaced women in Nigeria. It draws on data from a larger study in which focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to explore 52 women's gendered experiences with Boko Haram insurgency and displacement. A critical thematic analysis of data revealed that the women's relationships with their men were complex and ambiguous, characterised by both tensions and solidarity. The women saw their men as partners in their struggle against multi-level oppression, including the structural barriers that undermine their mutual sexual expressions and pleasure, as well as their desire to procreate and repopulate their decimated ancestral communities. We recommend collaborative efforts to promote and protect the Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights of displaced women which includes building physical structures and living conditions that promote healthy, safe and pleasurable sexual expressions, and socio-political structures that create access to the long term social security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on how heritage knowledge is built around time-space discourses. It takes a Critical Heritage Studies (CHS) position to examine heritage knowledge systems through the lenses of Walter Mignolo's decolonial praxis on 'locus of enunciation' and Tim Ingold's exegesis on 'dwelling perspectives'. Drawing from ethnographic evidence collected among the Igbo of Nigeria, the study engages Indigenous concepts and heritage ontologies in the context of time and space in heritage making in Africa. Secondly, it interrogates the evidence with the continuity that occurs in society through intergenerational knowledge systems that began with known ancestors. Thirdly, such sustainability mechanisms are examined using what I call 'territorial communion' – the ways in which those local knowledge systems are 'printed' on the landscape through human-nature 'relational ontologies', and how such pictured living holds heritage in a continuum. Finally, the paper contends that a good knowledge of intergenerational 'dwelling perspectives' from different loci of enunciation would begin the decoloniality of heritage in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of information communication technologies has transformed communication in Nigeria. The mass media once regarded as the most vocal and vibrant press in Africa is losing public trust as people easily source for critical information from social media instead of the media due to their patrimonial relationship with the state. The potentials of these information communication technologies in holding government accountable and enhancing journalism practice has endangers the state. Consequently, attempts by the state at regulating social media and the mass media through draconian bills such as protection from internet falsehood and manipulation bill of 2019, and the National Communication for the prohibition of Hate Speech bill 2019. Using Habermas notion of the public sphere coupled with semi-structured interviews with 12 media practitioners, this paper examines ways in which such regulatory frameworks have impacted on both the media and democratic cultures of the Nigerian state. The paper argues that social media and its convergence in the newsroom has expounded the democratic culture due to its affordances of speedy and accountability. However, the potentials of social media and its affordance has been misused. Consequently, the contestation between the state, public and media on how social media and its convergence in the newsroom can be effectively regulated. The media and public do not trust the state as they blame the state for the rise of fake news (misinformation and disinformation). On the other hand, the state has blamed the desire for profit and commodification of news for the rise of fake news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About half of the world's population is not connected to the Internet, and only 39% of the 1.2 billion Africans are Internet users. For technology corporations, such as Google, the unconnected represents potential market that needs to be reached. Google launched the 'Next Billion Users' project targeting the unconnected billions, and established 'Google Station', a service provided in conjunction with telecom partners to provide free WiFi service in public spaces in few developing countries. Through a critical theoretical articulation of digital coloniality, this paper examines the political economic rationale of Google's 'Google Station' in Nigeria. It exposes the market logic behind Google's interest in Nigeria, examines the reactions of Nigerians to this 'free' access to the Internet and interrogates what this reveals about the culture of innovation and development in Africa. The paper calls for a decolonial thinking about technological development. Failure to do this, Africa will continue to rely on foreign capitalist actors whose intent is to mine the market potential of Africa, but often veiled in benevolent guise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether the impact of COVID-19 at the household level is an obstacle to achieving the sustainable development goals of no poverty (SDG1), zero hunger (SDG2), good health and wellbeing (SDG3) and decent work and economic growth (SDG8). We limit our investigation to farm households given their precarious situation. We analyse data from the World Bank National Longitudinal Phone Survey (COVID-19 NLPS) and the 2018/2019 General Household Survey (GHS). An exact McNemar's test determined that there was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of households that skipped a meal (p =.002), ran out of food (p =.036) or went a whole day without food (p <.001) pre- and during- COVID-19. Approximately 81% perceived COVID-19 as a substantial threat to their income. This was buttressed by the finding that 75% reported a decrease in their total income since the outbreak of COVID-19. Overall, the findings in this paper suggest that COVID-19 posed a substantial threat to the attainment of SDGs 1, 2, 3 and 8. In the long term, government would need to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 through targeted social protection programs and policies to ensure that the country is on track to achieve the SDGs. [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]

This study analyses the dynamics of banditry in northwest Nigeria through qualitative and quantitative research methodology. To populate their cells, bandits apply economic incentives and coercion. They also leverage existing social relationship with members of the communities. Banditry manifests through the deployment of large-scale violence, but it is strongly undergirded by a criminal economy. The organizational structures of bandits have developed over time by accident and by design depending on the evolution of each cell and the contexts in which they operate. The paper concludes that efforts to eliminate, neutralise and disrupt (END) banditry in northwest Nigeria must embrace three strategies – the peacebuilding approach, security sector reform, and development. [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]

Assessing the benefits of adopting climate-resilient farming technologies without considering the heterogeneity among farmers, may not provide a sufficient evidence base for policy. Yet, most empirical studies do not go beyond documenting the average effects of climate-resilient technologies. Using farm household survey data from Nigeria, this paper examines whether and to what extent the yield and income impacts of adopting drought-tolerant maize varieties are heterogeneous. We used the stratification-multilevel, matching-smoothing and smoothing-differencing econometric methods to analyse the heterogeneous effects of the varieties on maize yield, crop income and household income. Our results show that the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties significantly increased maize yield, crop and household income. In addition, we find that the yield and income impacts of the adoption of drought-tolerant maize varieties are heterogeneous and depend on the farm households' propensity to adopt the drought tolerant maize varieties. Specifically, we find that the estimated yield effects of the drought-tolerant maize varieties are larger for farmers with the highest propensity to adopt the varieties, which suggests a positive selection. Our results emphasize the need for proper targeting of interventions to incentivize the uptake of climate-resilient farming technologies in order to improve the outcomes of households in drought-prone areas. [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]

The World Cup is the pinnacle of Nigeria's football participation. While it brings excitement to the country, it is intricately welded to politics at ethnic, national and international levels. What this paper investigatesis Nigeria's relationship with World Cup football- and the intersection of this relationship at three levels of politics. It frames this relationship using theoretical lenses ofnationalism, pan-Africanism and post-coloniality. These frames help us to understand why Nigerians at the World Cup, support not just the Nigerian team but other African teams and teams with players of African heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines self-legitimation and other-delegitimation in the online radio broadcasts of Nnamdi Kanu, the Supreme Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Using Theo van Leeuwen's (2008) legitimation approach, the paper analyses four speeches he delivered in Israel following his 'reappearance' in 2018. The analysis reveals that Kanu uses three legitimation strategies, namely authorisation, moralisation and rationalisation to justify his sudden escape from Nigeria, call for Biafra's self-rule and boycott of elections and to discredit alleged cloning of the president, electoral malpractices, marginalisation of the Igbo and corruption and brutality among security agents. These strategies are linguistically realised by self-glorification, exclusive and inclusive pronominalisations (us-them dichotomy), polarisation, derogatory nomination (labelling), and hyperbolic expressions. They are aimed at presenting Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB positively as fighting a legitimate cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, the harms and profits of oil exploration are distributed unequally. This inequality has sparked violence in many oil communities, leading to calls for redistributive approaches as an effective way to address petro-violence. Despite the inclusivity potential of distributive mechanisms, distributive agencies are often not level playing ground for community members. The capacity of excluded groups to participate meaningfully in the development agencies is shaped by the operation of symbolic violence. Using ethnographic data and symbolic violence as a theoretical basis in this paper, I map out three doxas – lazy youth, gerontocratic and deviant – which hinder youth participation in the oil development process. I show how these doxas enable institutional leaders in two development agencies in the Niger delta region of Nigeria to accumulate various forms of capital and occupy positions of power in the networks while simultaneously limiting young people's political participation, employment prospects, and stereotyping them as social threats. Several other dimensions of symbolic domination are discussed: including the misrecognition, acceptance, and resistance of these doxas by the youths themselves. I conclude with a brief reflection on the implication of these doxas for achieving inclusive development in the Niger delta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic payments system is among recent service innovations that have transformed access to finance in developing and emerging economies. This paper analyses and forecasts the diffusions of four major electronic payment technologies in Nigeria, namely, ATM, PoS, Mobile and Web payments. Diffusion was measured by the volume of financial payments transacted on these technologies. First, we applied two growth models to evaluate the diffusion and to forecast the future trajectories of these payment technologies. Second, we applied the logistics substitution model to evaluate how these technologies compete in the Nigerian payments market. The findings show that like many technological innovations the diffusions of electronic payment technologies are characterised by growth, maturity, saturation, and decline. In addition, the mobile payment system was forecast to emerge as the most diffused payment technology given the volume of financial exchange that will occur on this platform. These findings have implications for innovators, regulators and service providers within the Nigerian payment ecosystems. The findings also have practical implication for achieving the cashless economy and the financial inclusion projects of the Nigerian state which rely on the successful diffusions of these technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]