Globally, research, innovation, and the associated education and entrepreneurship are essential for youth and socioeconomic development. Governments, universities, research institutions, and private sector play various roles in the innovation value chain. The weak research and innovation systems in Africa are often linked to the overarching challenges of poor financing, inadequate capacity, weak infrastructure, and processes. Many African universities and research institutions are challenged to validate and transition their ideas and discoveries from the laboratory to field evaluation, and downstream development, registration, and commercialization processes. The critical discovery–development interface that is normally driven by the private sector is also not well developed. Overcoming these constraints require concerted local and global partnerships, sharing of available resources and assets, and training and use of suitable Information and Communications Technology and digital tools to boost productivity. Importantly, this requires private sector engagement and development. We discuss how the Innovation Development and Entrepreneurship Africa aims to use available assets in Africa to support institutions and youths to stimulate innovation. Redoubling efforts toward African development in the post COVID-19 era, in alignment with the African Union Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals, will require investment in support of these ideals. We offer some policy recommendations in this context.

ABSTRACT Optimization of extrusion cooking effects on the proximate composition, anti-nutritional factors, mass flow rate, and torque, among other responses of Bambara groundnut-based flour blends, was the objective of this research. Bambara groundnut, pearl millet, malted sorghum, and banana flours were blended in the ratio of 50:20:20:10, respectively. Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. Extrusion cooking reduced crude protein (20.01–17.19%), reduced the activities of oxalates, saponins, and trypsin inhibitors by 88.31%, 87.30%, and 82.35%, respectively, and increased carbohydrate content (57.48–68.82%). Barrel temperature had a strong increasing correlation (R2 = 0.9033) with mass flow rate, while net torque increased (78.15–81.26%) with decreasing screw speed (350–300 rpm). The RSM was successfully used to design, process, and develop prediction model equations for the manufacture of the Bambara groundnut-based breakfast cereal. Therefore, up to 50% Bambara groundnut is acceptable for a nutritionally improved breakfast cereal using extrusion cooking.

This study focuses on knowledge and attitudes toward media campaigns on gender-based violence against women in Southeast, Nigeria. To achieve this, the study examined the level of exposure, cognitive status as well as determinants of attitudes toward gender-based victimization. It was found that social economic facets like academic achievement, religion, cultural factors among others affect attitude toward gender based violence. It was recommended that a clear understanding of the relationship between dominant cultures and suppression of women should inform future campaigns on gender-based violence.

The global pandemic forced young adults and their parents to be together. This situation has equally exposed the weaknesses in the child-parent relationship. This study aimed to investigate the role of social intelligence in the relationship between parenting style and Internet addiction during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Seven hundred and seventy-four were sampled from a public university in southeast Nigeria. They comprised 373 females and 401 males aged 17-28 years, with a mean age of 21.61. The students responded to validated measures of parenting style inventory-II, the Tromsø social intelligence scale, and Young's Internet addiction test. The moderated multiple regression analysis results indicated that permissive parenting and social intelligence significantly predicted Internet addiction. Social intelligence moderated the relationship between authoritarian parenting style and Internet addiction. The moderation was that Internet addiction is significantly higher for individuals with low social intelligence and authoritarian parenting style than individuals with low social intelligence and higher authoritarian parenting style. Some implications of the findings include engaging parenting styles to encourage more physical interactions and enabling an environment for growth. Also, adopting techniques to increase social intelligence will help students adjust to any parenting style that may influence their psychological well-being.

Abstract The existing literature portrays the declaration of the independence of Biafra as a unanimous decision of the people of Biafra. While many leaders and personalities in Biafra supported the secession and some other decisions taken by the Biafran High Command, some others had reservations on that. Unfortunately, the existing literature in the Nigerian-Biafra war has not captured these silent voices. This paper intends therefore to capture these voices that have been neglected in the historiography of the war and situate them in proper historical perspective. The paper relies more on oral history of the war granted by some Biafran leaders who were actively involved in the war; it was complimented with books, monographs and other materials on the Nigerian-Biafran war. Available facts will be analysed using qualitative research methodology.

Aims: This study was carried out by analyzing the quantitative and qualitative of the biogas produced from cow dung by degrading mechanism. 32L of bioreactors was used for the study.
 Methodology: The bioreactors were constructed to imitate the fixed batch prototype. The study lasted for 30 days and it was carried out at the National Centre for Energy Research and Development, University of Nigeria,Nsukka. Slurry was prepared in bioreactors. The substrates in the bioreactors were water and cow dung (intestinal and abdominal waste). The pH, the total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS) and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) characteristics of the substrate before and after digestion were determined using standard method. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of biogas production was by liquid displacement and gas Analyzer methods
 Results: The results of the TS, VS and VFA were 400 mg/l, 92mg/l and 16.7 mg/l respectively in the predigested samples and 92 mg/l, 17.4mg/l and 28.3mg/l respectively in the post digested samples. The quantity of biogas produced at the first week was 8.5liters, 7.5litre and 6.1liter from the 4th day, 5th day and 8th days. The qualitative analysis showed that the prominent biogas produced was methane. 
 Conclusion: The results of the research concluded that high quantity of biogas can be produced using cow dung. Approaches and technology for more efficient biogas producing consortia are proposed.

This study explore ways of accelerating employee performance through management by objective among workers in manufacturing firms in Anambra State Nigeria. Three specific objectives research questions and hypotheses were formulated with the decomposed variables of the study. This study used a survey research design. The study population was three hundred and thirty-three (333) workers whereas the sample size was one hundred and eight two (182) arrived at using Taro Yamane formula. Data were composed using a self-administered questionnaire from the sample size of workers. The simple random sampling system was applied for the study. Pearson correlation coefficient and simple linear regression were applied for hypotheses testing. In the first hypothesis, the study found that participation exerts moderate influence on employee retention among workers in manufacturing firms (β=0.65, t=10.36, r2=0.424, F=107.272, p<0.01). Secondly, the test hypothesis found that there is a significant positive correlation connecting goal setting as well as employee job satisfaction among workers in manufacturing firms (r=0.859, n=148, p<0.01). In the third hypothesis, the study found that feedback exerts moderate statistical influence on employee commitment among workers in manufacturing firms (β=0.76, t=14.24, r2=0.581, F=202.815, p<0.01). The study concludes that for manufacturing firms to increase employee performance, setting and managing objectives is imperative. The research recommended that management needs to slot in employees in its actions so as to dissuade them from leaving the firm. The study also advocated that management needs to incorporate employee contributions when setting the firm’s goals to boost employee confidence and achieve job satisfaction.

ABSTRACT This study sought to ascertain relatively the asymmetric reactions of trade balances to currency devaluation and non-devaluation regimes in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries between 1981 and 2021 using the smooth transition regression (STR) model. The outcome indicates that, in Ghana, Malawi, and Mozambique, currency devaluation as a change in policy has a major influence on the trade balance; however, in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania, this impact is negligible. Nigeria had the highest gamma coefficient but insignificant, suggesting that policy change has not significantly impacted the country’s trade balance despite the high transition rate. Findings from the devaluation regime revealed that, with the exception of Ghana, all other nations’ real exchange rates are inversely and significantly related to the trade balance. Additionally, it displayed an average threshold parameter of 0.147, indicating that a devaluation of more than 14.7% within a year will deteriorate the trade balance in SSA. The results indicate that the devaluation effects hinge on the structure, macroprudential policies, and infrastructural growth of the nation. The study recommended amongst other things, (i) a robust structural transformation in key sectors (ii) judicious investment in infrastructural development to address the key bottleneck in the quality and quantity of domestic production.

Abstract Since Nigeria’s restoration to democracy in 1999, the country has never faced the same level of internal security threat as it does now, including threats from Boko Haram rebels, herdsmen and bandits. This paper argued that the problem of internal insecurity in Nigeria is a symptom of a failed state and that this can be remedied by the adoption of the concept of new approach to security in international law which essentially entails enthroning a regime of human rights protection in the country. The paper discovered that in Nigeria the number of human rights recognised in each generation of rights is not exhaustive enough. The paper further found, among other things, that Nigeria’s Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rule, 2009 does not give effect to internationally-recognized Rights that are uncaptured or weakly captured in Nigeria’s municipal law. The paper utilised the doctrinal methodology.