West African Journal on Sustainable Development

The way out to herders-farmers crisis in Nigeria

2024-01-01T18:14:03+01:00

The solution or the way out to herders-farmers violent clashes or crisis in Nigeria has remained illusory due to lack of accord, mostly between the Federal Government of Nigeria and affected North-Central and Southern states Governments, regarding the right method for curbing the menace. This continuous lack of accord is attributable to the sentimentalization of this sensitive national issue given the wide ethnic and religious differences between two warring groups – the ‘herders’ who are mainly Muslims and Fulani, and the crop farmers who are predominantly Christians from the middle-belt and southeastern states.

The mission of this study, therefore, is to identify any key stakeholder group that uses scientific methods devoid of sentiments to study any phenomenon before concluding fact-based findings. It is against this backdrop that this study tries to examine academics’ recommendations on the sustainable panacea to Herders-Farmers conflict in Nigeria. Because of the empirical nature of the study, it employed library-and-desk research methods for data collection. The population of the study constitutes journal articles on Herders-Farmers clashes in Nigeria. Twenty-eight papers were sourced and analyzed using content analysis.

The study observed that the majority of the academics recommended conflict resolution mechanisms, mass orientation, and ranches as the sustainable solution to the constant herders-farmers crisis in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that the ranches proposed by the Federal Government of Nigeria should be directed in some affected states to be able to assess its real potentials instead of totally rejecting it without subjecting it to any form of experimentation.

Deepening democracy for sustainable development: An assessment of the presidential system of government in Nigeria

2024-01-01T18:23:37+01:00

Nigeria is yet to utilize its intrinsic potentials for effective transformation of the economy, leading to endless conversations on the possible causation of the absence of tangible development in various aspects of the economy. Nevertheless, there were suggestions that the operationalization of the presidential system of democratic administration impedes sustainable development in Nigeria because of its resultant high cost on governance implications. Recent debates on the appropriate democratic system of administration that the country should adopt have focused more on whether Nigeria should continue with the presidential system or revert to the previous parliamentary type adopted at the wake of independence for sustainable development. In essence, much literature on government and development has not paid adequate attention to the impact of the presidential system on sustainable development in Nigeria. Thus, the inability of the system to transform the economy and activate the necessary economic and political indicators required for sustainable development led to gaps in the socio-economic and political development in Nigeria.

Essentially, this study attempts to examine the presidential system in relation to its impact on capital expenditures. Consequently, secondary sources of data collection were used to explore information from government, democracy, and sustainable development literature, journals, textbooks, official documents, news articles, and internet sources. Key informant interviews were conducted with key democratic institutions and individuals, and the gathered data was qualitatively analyzed using the content analysis method. The study shows a significant level of influence of the above identified issues on sustainable development in Nigeria.

The paper, concludes that the presidential system of democratic administration in Nigeria is fraught with an overbloated structure that exerts a burden of high cost of governance implications on the economy. However, the reduction in size and structure of the presidential system reduces recurrent expenditure, and funds are saved through increased funding for capital projects. Thus, issues impeding sustainable development are being addressed.

Influence of fuel subsidy removal on the prices of major food commodities in southeastern Nigeria

2024-01-01T21:15:50+01:00

Recently there has been an astronomical increase in food prices with resultant indication in food insecurity. This is positively correlated with the total removal of fuel subsidy. Therefore, this study examined the influence of subsidy removal on prices of food items in Southeastern Nigeria. Data for this study was obtained from National Bureau of Statistics. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (t- test) and presented in histogram and bar charts. The result showed that the prices of Rice, Beans, Yam, Garri and Tomato were significantly different after the subsidy removal at 10% level of significance and only Palm Oil was significant at 5% level of significance. There is a speedy rise in food price and other commodities within this short period of subsidy removal. This has resulted to different categories of hardships to the populace, affecting the economy of the country and leading to an unprecedented rise in exchange rate.

The consequences continued to affect importation of valued materials into the country. Agricultural production is affected due to high cost of farming inputs and food security is compromised. Therefore, improvement in the transportation system, provision of palliative measures and reduction of corruption will in no small measure increase food production, food security and sustainable livelihood.

Assessing the job satisfaction of health workers in primary health centers in Anaocha, Anambra State in Nigeria

2024-01-01T21:28:47+01:00

Background: Determining the effectiveness of a health system is the presence of an adequate and well-distributed workforce of skilled health professionals, particularly within the Primary Health Care sector. These healthcare personnel constitute a significant portion of public health expenditure and with their jobs form the cornerstone of numerous policies and management approaches aimed at augmenting productivity and efficacy.

Objective: This study sought to assess the level of job satisfaction among healthcare workers in Primary Health Centres in Anaocha LGA, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Methods: After obtaining approval from the ethics and research committees in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, a cross-sectional study of 70 consenting Primary healthcare workers who met the eligibility criteria was conducted. They were selected by simple random sampling from 1^st February to 1^st March 2021 at the Primary Healthcare Centres in Anaocha Local Government Area (L.G.A) of Anambra State. Data collection was by the use of a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The level of significance for this study was set at P < 0.05 for all analyses.

Results: The study showed a high level of overall job satisfaction, as 81.43% of the respondents were satisfied with their jobs. The workers' salary (p = 0.021), their physical working environment (p = 0.043), the distance of the workplace from their place of residence (p = 0.041), and payment of allowances (p = 0.012) were significantly associated with job satisfaction.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated a notably elevated level of job satisfaction. Special allowance schemes should be instituted for primary healthcare workers to encourage their stay in rural areas.

Impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on unemployment rate in sub-Saharan African countries: Panel ARDL analysis

2024-01-01T22:08:59+01:00

In spite of the importance of foreign direct investment in employment creation, unemployment rate in Sub Saharan African is still on alarming rate. It is on this that this study seek to examined the impact of FDI on unemployment rates in sub-Saharan Africa using new econometric techniques for PMG/ARDL for the period 2000–2021. Taking into account the influence of education, population and the inflation rate, the long-run effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the unemployment rate is statistically significant, suggesting that foreign direct investment has a significant relationship with unemployment in the selected sub-region.

The error correction model coefficient is negative and significant in the specification, indicating that the short-run imbalance is corrected in the long-run. Given the significant role of foreign direct investment inflows in influencing the unemployment rate, we recommend that governments in this region should provide adequate policy and good environment that will attract FDI. Also, education authorities should be able to provide the type of education (Skill acquisition) that will fit in the industries.

Rural infrastructure deficit in Nigeria: Bridging the gap for sustainable development

2024-01-01T22:23:05+01:00

It is unarguable that the rural area carries about 70% of the country’s untapped natural resources and the bulk of her landmass, however rural communities are still subsisting under poor conditions devoid of opportunities and options, emerging from decades of callous neglect of Rural Infrastructure Investment in rural areas.

Available records show that Rural Infrastructure is disproportionately low or even non-existent in many rural areas of Nigeria and several efforts at improving the records have not achieved the desired results. Two major approaches to Infrastructure investment are; self-help among rural dwellers and external assistance as offered by planners and implementers of policies to this effect. This paper addresses the second approach focusing on attainment of SDG goal 11. Area specific Rural Infrastructure provisions are canvassed for to boost the rate of impact by capitalizing on the people’s participatory approach which entrenches the sustainable development indicators. Recommendations made include a call on governments to pursue Rural Infrastructure provision as an impetus for achieving the SDG goal of making our communities safe, resilient and sustainable.

Level of awareness and perception of Nigerian undergraduate students on the united nations sustainable development goals

2024-01-01T23:05:39+01:00

The study examined the level of awareness and perception of Nigerian undergraduate students on the United Nations sustainable development goals using gender, level of education and university type as variables. The study adopted descriptive method to evaluate awareness of undergraduates and their perception regarding sustainable development goals. It was conducted in the two public universities in Anambra state with a population of 20,626 undergraduate students. The sample of 392 students was composed using simple Yamane formula and simple random sampling technique.

Two research questions guided the study. The reliability of 0.82 was ascertained through test retest. Data were collected using two instruments; Sustainable Development Awareness scale and Sustainable Development Knowledge Scale. Data collected were analyzed using percentages and represented graphically. It was revealed that the level of awareness and perception of female undergraduate students with 47.5% was greater than the level of awareness and perception of their male counterparts with 48.8%. Also, it indicated that 300L undergraduate students were more aware than 200L undergraduate students with 55.7% and 37.5% respectively among others.

It recommended the institutionalization of sustainable development studies in the universities, adoption of innovative strategies to increase awareness of male students, organization of action-based programmes to enhance awareness and perception towards sustainable development goals among undergraduate students in Nigerian university among others.

Inclusive university education on the holistic empowerment of female science students’ in Enugu State: Implications for sustainable development goals attainment

2024-01-01T23:31:51+01:00

The consistent home vices and divorce without recurring decimal to what causes it in Enugu State, Nigeria necessitated the study. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of university education on the holistic empowerment of female science students in Enugu State: Implications for sustainable development goals. Four research questions and four null hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance guided the study.

A correlational research design was adopted for the study. Simple random sampling technique was used in selecting 172 female science education students comprising 119 single and 53 married from Department of Science Education. The instrument used for data collection were four in number: the holistic empowerment of university education scale, (HEUES), intellectual empowerment scale (IES), financial empowerment scale (FES), and socio-cultural empowerment scale (SCES) adapted from 21 items scale of Abhinanadan, Abhishek, Sanath and Gururaj (2023). The reliability of the instruments was tested using Cronbach’s alpha which yielded indices of 0.76, 0.85, 0.91 and 0.75 respectively. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and path analysis to test the proposed hypotheses.

The finding of the study amongst others indicated that university education intellectually, financially and socio-culturally influenced holistic empowerment of female science students irrespective of marital status in Enugu state. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government agencies and private individuals to roll out measures to encourage female folk to attain university education.

The effect of foreign direct investment and exchange rate on the gross domestic product in Nigeria

2024-01-02T00:19:56+01:00

Foreign Direct Investment has traditionally been a crucial driver of economic growth in many nations, including Nigeria during a certain period in its history. Regrettably, the influence of this investment can vary based on the prevailing exchange rate. With this in view, this study employs econometric methods to empirically examine the relationship between foreign direct investment, exchange rates, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria from 1981 to 2021. The annual data was sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria's statistical bulletin and the World Bank Development Index. The time series data collected from the Central Bank of Nigeria was subjected to various tests to ensure its reliability, including stationarity testing and a sensitivity analysis that encompassed the Ramsey Reset specification, detection of serial correlation, identification of heteroskedasticity, and evaluation of multi-collinearity.

Using the Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) co-integration approach, the analysis revealed a significant long-term relationship between GDP and the exchange rate, while the relationship between GDP and foreign direct investment was not statistically significant. Furthermore, the models were found to be free from serial correlation and exhibited stability, making the results suitable for policy considerations. In light of these findings, it is recommended that policymakers explore diversifying their investments into other industries to attract foreign investors. Additionally, it is advised that the Central Bank of Nigeria implement stringent controls on foreign exchange policies to ensure the proper determination of the Naira's value relative to other currencies.

Sustainable development of agricultural cooperative among the beneficiaries of Bank of agriculture (boa) loan scheme in Ogun State, Nigeria

2024-01-02T00:35:41+01:00

This study focused on sustainable development of Agricultural Cooperative among beneficiaries of Bank of Agriculture (BOA) loan scheme in Ogun state, Nigeria. The three zones of the operation were sampled using multistage sampling techniques. Primary and secondary data were utilized for the study and obtained with the use of a well-structured questionnaire from 120 respondents out of which One hundred and nine (109) were returned, and acceptable for data analysis.

The results obtained on the socio-economic characteristics of the (BOA) agricultural cooperators revealed that majority of them were male (58.7%), aged less than 50 years (75.2) with an average age of 42.51 years per cooperators, married (75.2%), had moderate household size of 5 (mean) per household, literate with vast majority (98.2%) possessing one form of formal education or other, (71.6%), engaged in farming as main occupation had an average of 5 years of farming experience and (64.2%) practiced Christianity as religion.

Analysis of the factors influencing the amount of loan obtained revealed that age, education, farm size, amount repaid, loan experience among others. While household size had negative relationship with loan repayment, education and loan size have positive relationship with it. In terms of constraints to the BOA loan acquisition, high interest rate, bureaucracy and inability to provide a guarantor were adjudged as the major constraints.

Strategies for attaining the 4th goal of sustainable development in public secondary schools in Anambra State

2024-01-02T00:50:48+01:00

The study investigated the strategies used by teachers in attaining the 4^th goal of sustainable development in public secondary schools in Anambra State. Sustainable Development Goal 4 is a broad objective that ensures that every child irrespective of creed, gender, and social status gets quality primary and secondary education. The aim of the study was to find out the strategies employed by school teachers to ensure that every student in their schools acquires quality education for lifelong learning. The descriptive research design was used for the study, and the study population comprised 6402 secondary school teachers in Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and the multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 994 teachers. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection and validated by three Education experts. The reliability of the instrument was done using Cronbach alpha which yielded a Coefficient value of 0.85. Mean scores and standard deviation were used to analyze the data collected. The findings revealed that teachers rarely use inclusive teaching and guided learning strategies in achieving sustained development goal 4. The study recommended that teachers should be trained and retrained on the act of inclusive teaching and learning for quality education.

Harnessing the economic and developmental potentials of textile industry for sustainable development of South East region of Nigeria

2024-01-02T01:13:46+01:00

The study looked at Economic and Developmental Potentials of Textile Industry for Sustainable Development of South East Region, the challenges, markets and other variables. The study employed descriptive qualitative method to arrive at the conclusion. The present decline in oil revenue and the debt burden to the Nigerian economy, it has become imperative for regional efforts towards textile industry for development. Historically, Aba and Onitsha have remained the hubs of garments making and marketing in the Southeast attracting patrons from far and wide. The clothing and textile consumption is very high in the region owing to the high fashionable tendencies of many inhabitants of zone, apart from conventional clothing consumptions; there are other special uses of clothing such as security and military uniforms, political rallies, cultural and end of the year carnivals, sporting activities, environmental remediation, building construction etc. Despite the tremendous economic potentials of the sector, the government policies over the years had negated its growth. The paper believes that with the famed entrepreneurial capability of people of Southeastern Nigeria, textile industry will certainly provide a sustainable development in the region in particular and Nigeria in general if properly harnessed.

Perceived organizational support and entrepreneurial intention as predictors of sustainable organizational effectiveness

2024-01-02T01:33:52+01:00

The overall productivity and effectiveness of the workplace especially in Nigeria as a developing country, forms an unimaginable bases for sustainable development of any nation. Hence, the study examined the roles of perceived organizational support and entrepreneurial intention as predictors of sustainable organizational effectiveness in the workplace. The researcher used 180 participants drawn from private organisations in Awka, Anambra State and selected using a systematic and convenience sampling technique. The participants consisted of 78 males (43.3%) and 102 females (56.7%) with the age range of 20-60 years, mean age of 40 years and a standard deviation of 0.6. The researcher employed the use of perceived organizational support scale, entrepreneurial intention scale and organizational effectiveness scale in determining the participant’s responses.

The study adopted correlational design and multiple linear regression as the study design and statistics. The first hypothesis which stated that perceived organizational support of workers will significantly predict their organizational effectiveness was accepted at B = .360, t = 24.841, p < .05. This shows that perceived organizational support significantly predicted organizational effectiveness which is needed for sustainable development. The second hypothesis which stated that entrepreneurial intention will significantly predict worker’s organizational effectiveness was accepted at B = .184, t = 2.509, p < .05. This shows that entrepreneurial intention significantly predicted organizational effectiveness for sustainable development. Furthermore, it was recommended that organizations should encourage a support system and the initiation of entrepreneurial intention among workers as it makes for the effectiveness needed for sustainable development of any organisation.

Organizational frustration and psychological wellbeing as predictors of workplace hostility among non-teaching staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

2024-01-02T09:12:57+01:00

Workplace hostility is costly to the wellbeing of employees and detrimental to sustainable development of Nigerian organisations. Consequently, this study examined organizational frustration and psychological wellbeing as predictors of workplace hostility among non-teaching staff of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Anambra State. A total number of one hundred and twenty (120) non-teaching staff participated in the study. The participants were drawn from eight units of the administrative arm of the university using simple random sampling technique. The participants were aged between 25 to 50 years, with a mean age of 35.02 and a standard deviation of 6.46. The Workplace Hostility Scale, Organizational Frustration Scale and Ryff’s Scale of Psychological Wellbeing were instruments used to generate data for the study.

The study tested three hypotheses. The first hypothesis stated that organizational frustration will significantly and positively predict workplace hostility and was accepted (β = .392, t= -3.580, p<.05). This result showed that organizational frustration was positively related to workplace hostility among workers. Hypothesis two which stated that psychological wellbeing will significantly and positively predict workplace hostility was rejected (β =-.009, t= -.086, P>.05). Hypothesis three which stated that organizational frustration and psychological wellbeing will both significantly predict workplace hostility was also rejected because the interaction between organizational frustration and psychological wellbeing did not positively predict workplace hostility. These findings have important implications for understanding the factors that contribute to hostility among workers and highlights the consequences of hostile behaviors in organizations. Therefore, it is recommended that employers prioritize the wellbeing of their workers and consider seeking psychological interventions to improve their working environment.

The possibility of attaining a sustainable future democratic governance in contemporary Nigeria through the instrumentality of social studies education

2024-01-02T20:03:18+01:00

This paper examined the possibility of attaining a sustainable future democratic governance in Contemporary Nigeria through the instrumentality of social studies education. Social studies education is seen as a problem-solving course of instruction designed to train and produce effective and active citizens who are fully loaded with critical knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to enable them to make effective and informed decisions in society. The development of sustainable future democratic governance is at the heart of social studies education as it tries to assist through its teachings to inculcate core social and cultural values in the learners. The paper extensively looked at the concepts and objectives of social studies education, democracy, and democratic governance, and how it can be used to ensure a hitch-free modern Nigerian society.

The paper identified government partisanship as one of the main obstacles to the attainment of effective democratic governance in Nigeria, as well as widespread poverty, corruption, political thuggery, ethnic profiling, compromised security personnel, voter suppression, and intimidation, requiring urgent action to reverse this negative trend. Finally, it was noted that a leader’s character, competence, creativity, commitment, thoughtfulness, transparency, and integrity are only a few examples of the elements that solidify sustainable democracy anchored on effective governance.

Therefore, the paper recommended among others that, the senior secondary social studies curriculum, as prepared and approved but not yet implemented, must be completely embraced and implemented right away, as this would extend the intellectual agility of the young students and help them fully comprehend the complexity of democratic governance.

Spatiotemporal estimation of tree cover loss in comparison with land surface temperatures using remote sensing approach in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nigeria

2024-01-02T20:35:16+01:00

Human pressures have a unique impact on the carbon cycle and forest ecosystem resilience The loss of tree cover (TC). The increase in urban areas contributes significantly to the loss of vegetation cover (VC), which accelerates carbon emissions, increasing land surface temperature (LST) and global warming. This study used remote sensing and GIS techniques to estimate the Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) changes by focusing on VC loss and its impact on LST and carbon emissions in Nnamdi Azikiwe University during 2001-2021. The study’s findings confirmed an reduction of VC of about -39% from 2001- 2011 with around 27.2% increase of vegetation cover loss, and corresponding LST rise from 22˚C to 35˚C. The trends were continuous, with a decrease in VC loss by -30% during 2011–2021, contributing 26˚C– 42˚C LST rise in the study area.

Results indicate that the massive amount of carbon attracted the sun’s rays due to the TC loss and raising the surface temperature by 20˚C since 2001, which directly contributing to global warming. Thus, to mitigate climate hazards, efforts to slow urbanization to reduce pollution gateways and increase carbon sinks through afforestation will significantly contribute to protecting humanity from global warming.

Agro-based entrepreneurship and food security in Nigeria: Panacea for sustainable development

2024-01-02T20:54:08+01:00

Government age long dependency in oil and gas as its primary source of revenue has unintended negative consequence in Agro based industries and food security in Nigeria. Despite Government neglect to support agro-based entrepreneurship, enterprises in agriculture possess value chains with an intriguing potential to create sustainable economic development for Nigeria. This emphasizes the need for development partners to adopt already existing SME programmes and ideas to meet the needs of farmers in order to add value to their agricultural products, and invest in new interventions targeted at value addition for rural development and increased agricultural productivity for small scale farmers. Hence, the present study explored agro-based entrepreneurship and food security in Nigeria. Agro-based entrepreneurship has encouraged diversification into non-traditional agricultural products and value addition to reduce vulnerability and enhanced food security and poverty reduction. The study examined the development of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Identified various agro-based businesses that can thrive in Nigeria, emphasized the role of agro-based entrepreneurship in food security, national economy and sustainable development.

Furthermore, the study examined the guiding theory the assumptions of the study and identified challenges that young entrepreneurs face in Nigeria with an insight into the role of Government in ensuring sustainable food security in Nigeria. It is recommended that agro-based entrepreneurs be encouraged to enhance their skills so as to access appropriate information using ICT tools which will provide the necessary information on weather forecast patterns, input prices, projected market prices, government incentives, and agricultural-related policies and programmess. The study further recommended that Government should support rising agro-based entrepreneurs with sponsorships of trainings on agricultural entrepreneurship, innovations and technologies, which are essential in meeting up with the current trends in agro based industries.

Technological Innovation and Job Satisfaction of Managers and Accountants in Owerri

2024-02-20T11:48:56+01:00

Technology has over the years, become the driver of businesses and business practices around the globe. There are however corporate organizations that are yet to embrace various technological innovations. As such, this study investigated technological innovation and job satisfaction of Managers and Accountants in Owerri. The study concentrated on registered entrepreneurial entities in the Owerri Senatorial Zone, Imo State. The objectives of the study were to examine the relationship between cloud computing and job satisfaction in entrepreneurial entities; and to assess the level of correlation between mobile applications and job satisfaction in the entrepreneurial entities. The researchers developed a problem statement that captured the research gaps which called for the study. The study was guided by two research objectives, two research questions and two hypotheses.

The Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model(TAM) was used to handle the theoretical framework. Empirical reviews were used to beef up the study. The researchers employed the survey research design in the research. A five-point Likert Scale structured questionnaire was the major instrument for data collection. The validity of the instrument was done by showing the questionnaire to research experts for their corrections and inputs. Cronbach Alpha statistic was used for obtaining 0.87as the reliability ratio of the survey instrument. Data analysis was committed to descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation. Correlation analysis was used to test hypotheses.

It was found that each of cloud computing and mobile applications positively and significantly improved job satisfaction of Managers and Accountants in entrepreneurial entities in Owerri. It was concluded that technological innovation was a determinant of job satisfaction of Managers and Accountants in Owerri. The study recommended that entrepreneurial entities should always embrace cloud computing and mobile applications so as to always gain job satisfaction and all round corporate viability.

Influence of Climate Change on Agricultural Production of Farmers Cooperative Members. A Study of Selected Agricultural Cooperative in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria.

2024-02-22T19:03:32+01:00

This study investigates the influence of climate change on agricultural production among farmers' cooperative members in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. The research addresses a significant research gap in understanding the specific impacts of climate change on cooperative farmers' practices and productivity. The objectives of the study were to examine the effects of flooding, drought, and pests and diseases on crop output, profitability, and income of cooperative farmers in the area. Among the active and functional Farmers’ cooperative in the area, 15 cooperative societies were purposively selected having a total membership strength of 2,180. A sample size of 338 respondents were determined using Taro Yamani formula. Through a comprehensive analysis of data collected from selected agricultural cooperatives, the study reveals that climate change poses substantial challenges to cooperative farmers in the study area. Results show significant challenges from climate change. Flooding reduces crop output, drought affects profitability, and pests/diseases diminish income. Recognizing vulnerabilities aids stakeholders in targeted strategies for climate change adaptation. Insights from this study benefit policymakers, agricultural extension services, and cooperative groups, aiding in designing effective adaptation plans. In conclusion, by addressing flooding, drought, and pests/diseases' specific effects, this research enhances cooperative farmers' adaptive capacity, fostering agricultural sustainability in the study area.

Towards Curbing Incessant Industrial Actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities to Achieve Quality Education and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

2024-02-22T19:35:12+01:00

Over the years, various unions in the industrial sector have deployed strikes or industrial actions as a tool to compel the ruling class to yield to their demands and implement agreements they willingly endorsed. Though, strikes impacts the public universities perniciously, and detrimental to the actualization of educational goals as enshrined in the sustainable development goals (SDGs); regrettably, Nigerian government appears rather adamant about resolving the issues that necessitate strikes as well as forestall their escalation. This is really the situation the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has faced over the years, in the hands of Nigerian government; who had vehemently and consistently reneged on its promises with utter bravado. Suffice that the agreements do not only bother on the welfare of workers and students alike but also towards the rapid development of Nigerian education system and stabilization of the economy.

Unfortunately, government’s blatant refusal to implement agreements had compelled the union to incessantly embark on strikes, spanning from weeks to months with their attendant effects, such as disruption of academic activities on campuses, suspension of statutory meetings, withholding of workers’ salaries to mention but a few. Consequently, while some students get frustrated, others seemed demoralized by the unwarranted protraction of their year of study, payment of additional fees and levies as well as other avoidable expenditures thereof. The foregoing submissions demystifies strike and its effects on our public universities, and also calls for holistic and proactive approaches to mitigate the situation. Against this backdrop, the paper x-rayed the effects of strikes to advancement of education system vis-a-vis the sustainable socio-economic development of the nation, and as well recommends the way forward.

Privatization and Service Delivery in the Nigerian Power Sector: An Exposition on EEDC

2024-03-26T16:05:12+01:00

In the search for solutions to improve the performance of state-owned enterprises, several developing countries including Nigeria have embarked upon extensive privatization programmes within the framework of macroeconomic reform and liberation. Privatization of the power sector in Nigeria was premised on the fact that there were problems with the state owned power enterprises and privatization was part and parcel of a reform agenda to turn around these enterprises so that they can deliver electricity more efficiently and effectively. As revealed in the work, this kind of reasoning is ideologically loaded but cannot be substantiated by the existential reality of Nigeria. This paper hinges on Karl Marx’s theory of dialectical materialism in tandem with the structural functional theory focused on the effects of privatization with reference to the performance of EEDC in their service delivery functions. Using documentary sources of information and descriptive analysis, findings revealed among others that there has been little or no synergy between privatization and improvement in the level of power supply in Awka South Local Government. The nation still lacks the capacity to generate and transmit enough electricity to these distribution companies and the distribution companies in turn due to lack of technical expertise still record a lot of distribution losses. More disturbing is the exorbitant increase in the electrical bills and the continued menace of the arbitrary estimated billing system. The author recommends among others the need for more investors in the industry in order to level the competitive playing field and the recruitment of adequate manpower with the necessary technical knowledge.