Development Policy In Nigeria Research Articles

Climate variability, agricultural technologies adoption, and productivity in rural Nigeria: a plot-level analysis

BackgroundIncreasing agricultural productivity has long been touted as the main avenue to lifting the rural poor out of poverty and ensuring their sustainable development. The adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) is vital for spurring agricultural productivity in a changing climate environment. This paper examines the factors (including long-term climate variability) influencing the adoption of multiple SAPs (improved seeds, organic and inorganic fertilizers, and legume intercropping) and their impact on crop productivity.MethodologyThis study uses a nationally representative, geo-referenced plot-level data from a household survey in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select households for the survey. The multivariate and ordered probit models were employed to estimate the adoption and intensity of adoption respectively, while the instrumental variables approach was used to examine the impact of the technologies on productivity.ResultsThe results provide evidence of interdependences between the SAPs, and that the factors that determine the initial adoption decisions are not necessarily the same factors that influence the intensity of use of the technologies. Climate risks in terms of high variability in temperature and rainfall affect SAPs adoption and their intensity of use. Access to agricultural extension, years of education and off-farm activities of the plot manager, and household wealth influence the use of improved seeds and inorganic fertilizer. Organic fertilizers are used mainly by households with large livestock units and those that live in areas with low soil nutrients and greenness index. In general, the intensity of SAPs adoption is influenced by wage and off-farm activities, and access to agricultural extension services. On the productivity side, inorganic fertilizer is positively correlated with plot-level productivity.ConclusionsThese results have implications for rural development policies in Nigeria aimed at nudging farmers to adopt multiple technologies on their plots, while enhancing an outward shift of their crop production functions. Providing technical and financial resources to extension agents is crucial so they could better reach rural smallholder households with the knowledge and benefits of these SAPs. In addition, smallholder households should diversify their livelihood portfolios to include non-farm income generating activities. Agricultural Research and Development should target factors that respond to climate variabilities (such as drought resistant and early maturing varieties). There is a need for improved infrastructures (road networks to allow easy market access as well as access to credit) that will allow farmers to access these innovations.

Colonial Vestiges, Indigenous Policy-Logical-Framework, and Sustainable Development in Nigeria

Countries in Africa continue to represent practical examples of failed nation-states due to the persistence of all known indicators of underdevelopment. Ironically, the continent has a proud social history that eulogizes its contribution to global development. However, a careful look at most of the countries (such as Nigeria) that make up the continent reveals an image of adverse human development realities. This negative socio-economic scenario has put the continent at the forefront of foreign aid destinations even though Africa has all it takes to drive a healthy development agenda. The manner with which development policies are far removed from the reach of the masses in terms of their input, needs, and aspirations, shows the nature of the colonial character that surrounds policymaking in a country like Nigeria. It is the submission of this paper, that decolonizing policy-making processes and ensuring that the masses are integrated into the process would go a long way to synthesize the indigenous aspirations, elite groups, and valid experience for sustainable development. Hence, using the colonial policy template diagram and the post-colonial policy template diagram of successive governments, the paper evaluated the structure of policymaking and implementation in Nigeria and the disconnection between policy objectives and realities in the economy. Based on the findings, the paper recommends an indigenous and populist informed policymaking process to reverse the colonization of development policies in Nigeria and to engender a sustainable development policy trajectory.

Assessing academic librarians’ awareness on the importance and knowledge of collection development policy in Nigeria

Despite the importance of collection development policy (CDP) in developing library collection, little has been written about the awareness and knowledge of those who are responsible for formulating, maintaining, and updating this policy, especially in Nigeria where collection development challenges seem to be rampant. Therefore, this study assesses Nigerian academic librarians’ awareness on the importance and knowledge of CDP and also determines whether academic librarians’ educational level and working experience influence their awareness on the importance and knowledge of CDP. The study employed a quantitative methodology using a survey research design. One hundred and thirty-six (I36) academic librarians were recruited from three selected academic libraries in the Northwestern zone of Nigeria using a random sampling method. A survey questionnaire developed based on the IFLA (2001) guideline for collection development policy was used to collect the data. Descriptive and Spearman correlational analyses were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that academic librarians had a high level of awareness on the importance and knowledge of CDP. The findings also revealed that academic librarians’ educational level influenced their awareness on the importance (p = .000) and knowledge of CDP (p = .009). However, academic librarians’ working experience did not influence their awareness on the importance (p = .100) and knowledge of CDP (p = .307). This study has contributed to the management of academic libraries by providing useful information on the importance and knowledge of CDP among academic librarians in Nigeria. The study suggests that various educational programs are necessary to continue to improve the awareness on the importance and knowledge of CDP among library professionals in Nigeria.

Law and Nigeria's Development: How to Strengthen the Efficacy of Law for Development in Nigeria

In today's world, the role of law transcends the maintenance of social order and administration of justice. Law has a crucial role to play in the developmental processes of states. Nigeria, a country now reputed to be the poverty capital of the world, is in dire need of development. Law can aid Nigeria's quest towards development. This study addresses the question what is development and makes an attempt to offer a holistic notion of the concept. In appraising the relevance of law in Nigeria's developmental process, the study examined instances where the law was employed to enable development, either through the facilitation of indices of development or through the inhibition of impediments to development. Additionally, the study interrogated the nexus between the law and development policy in Nigeria, and appraised the role of law in Nigeria's development process. Prescriptively, the study suggested ways in which the relevance of law in Nigeria's development process can be supplemented, namely prioritisation of the development question in law-making, execution and interpretation; promoting the realisation of socio-economic rights; and the mainstreaming of customary law as an integral part of the law and development discourse.

Policy Coherence and Mandate Overlaps as Sources of Major Challenges in Public Sector Management in Nigeria

Policies are management instruments that organizations employ to ensure their stakeholders and others understand their guiding principles. This paper examined the importance and impacts of policy coherence, mandate overlaps and policy management towards achieving policy effectiveness. The authors examined some extant development policies in Nigeria for policy coherence and assessed some agencies that implement these policies for mandate overlaps and mandate clarity/exclusiveness. To reduce policy incoherence and mandate overlaps, the paper recommended that policy makers should consult widely to understand all the issues involved and use multi-sector teams to ensure the development of effective policies that are robust in nature. Finally, it canvassed that policies be reviewed or evaluated from time to time to strengthen identified areas of weaknesses and enhance their effectiveness.

The Local Content Act, 2010 and Manpower Development Policy in Nigeria: How Far so Far?

The Local Content Act, 2010 and Manpower Development Policy in Nigeria: How Far so Far?

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND ITS PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES IN NIGERIA

Global statistics revealed that the development of science and technology research has aided and facilitated growth and sustainable development in most industrialized societies while the story is different for less developed countries hence, this paper examined policy issues and challenges confronting the development of science and technology research in Nigeria. The study adopted the elite theory and derived its data from secondary sources which included official government documents, textbooks, published journals articles, the international news media, newspaper publications, materials from the internet etc. The study also adopted the descriptive research method hence, the data collected were analysed using the qualitative method. Findings in the study show that lack of consistency in the development of a science and technology development policy has hindered the growth and use of indigenous technology in Nigeria. Thus, there is need to develop and implement an indigenous home grown sustainable science and technology development policy in Nigeria in order to compete favourably in the international market.

An Appraisal of Production Subcontracting Toward Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development in the Nigeria Industrial Sector: A Review Approach

This paper is an appraisal of production subcontracting and how it stimulates the survival of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the Nigeria industrial sector. The aim of this article is to extend the debate on the desirability of production subcontracting between SMEs and its relevance to industrial development policy in Nigeria. The analysis in this paper was based on a desktop review of 15 articles published in Nigeria on production subcontracting and SMEs within a 19-year period (2001–2019). These articles were drawn from peer-reviewed journal articles. This paper found that on the basis of a critical review of literature, research on production subcontracting has apparently enjoyed a smidgen of global acceptance as was shown by its high quality of publications. This paper also found that production subcontracting strategy has been instrumental in the survival of SMEs in the Nigerian industrial sector through its abilities to guarantee reduction in operational cost, risk reduction, and resources accessibility. The found an emerging area of research in production subcontracting which suggests that production subcontracting increases firm performance in the areas of profit growth, market share, and organizational profit. This paper suggested that given the significant contributions of production subcontracting in the SMEs sector, the strategy deserves development and policy support in the country.

Diversification of the Nigerian Economy through Human Resource Development and Utilization

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of diversification of Nigeria’s economy through human resource development and utilization. It is on record that most developed countries in the world diversified their economy through the development of their citizens and thereafter utilized them in all the sectors of the economy. The narrative research design was adopted as it involves the use of secondary sources of data from Newspapers, Journals, and other online sources. This paper concludes that diversification of the Nigerian economy measured in terms of human resource development and utilization in the areas of manufacturing diversification, financial diversification, foreign direct investment, fiscal diversification, regional diversification, and job diversification has the capacity of revitalizing and sustaining Nigeria's economy. Therefore, human resource development policies in Nigeria should focus on education, technology, biotechnology, agriculture, aircraft, vehicle manufacturing, manufacturing of military gadgets such as weaponry and drones. The Nigerian government should also implement equal regionalization of industrial zones for equitable distribution of resources across all regions to avoid marginalization.

Diversification of the Nigerian Economy through Human Resource Development and Utilization

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of diversification of Nigeria’s economy through human resource development and utilization. It is on record that most developed countries in the world diversified their economy through the development of their citizens and thereafter utilized them in all the sectors of the economy. The narrative research design was adopted as it involves the use of secondary sources of data from Newspapers, Journals, and other online sources. This paper concludes that diversification of the Nigerian economy measured in terms of human resource development and utilization in the areas of manufacturing diversification, financial diversification, foreign direct investment, fiscal diversification, regional diversification, and job diversification has the capacity of revitalizing and sustaining Nigeria's economy. Therefore, human resource development policies in Nigeria should focus on education, technology, biotechnology, agriculture, aircraft, vehicle manufacturing, manufacturing of military gadgets such as weaponry and drones. The Nigerian government should also implement equal regionalization of industrial zones for equitable distribution of resources across all regions to avoid marginalization.

Dimensions and drivers of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria

PurposeThe majority of poor women in Africa live in rural areas, and investigating their empowerment status and factors influencing their empowerment is therefore a tool for overcoming poverty. This paper investigated the dimensions and determinants of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThis study used data from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). Information on women's agencies, resource, income, leadership and time/workload was used to construct women empowerment index (WEI). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression model.FindingsMost of the decisions were made by the women's spouses, while decisions on how to spend her earnings were jointly made with her spouse. A majority of the women did not justify beating nor owned businesses. A larger percentage of rural women were disempowered than men; agency had the highest relative contribution to women's disempowerment; and women in the northern zones of Nigeria were less empowered than their southern counterparts. Husband's education and her age were inversely related to women's empowerments while her education, household size and being the household head were directly related to it.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of empirical studies on multidimensional women's empowerment in rural Nigeria. This study therefore provides a clear understanding of drivers of women's empowerment in rural Nigeria, and its findings are to serve as guiding documents for policymakers in designing gender-responsive interventions programs and implementation of a genuine gender mainstreaming in rural development policy in Nigeria. Further, the findings would contribute to the growing body of knowledge, especially empirical studies, on women's empowerment in Nigeria and the developing world.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-07-2019-0455

Deploying evidence-based research for socio-economic development policies in Nigeria

Background: Society’s socio-economic development process, which covers ways and means of ensuring the well-being and self-actualisation of the generality of the citizens, requires viable and implementable policies.Aim: This article analyses the interconnections between evidence-based research, adequate policies and societal advancement in many parts of the developed world, as well as the underperformance in societies with obvious research–policy gaps.Setting: Using Nigeria as country of study, it focuses attention on how evidence-based research could be deployed more effectively for improved livelihood.Methods: Data are drawn from historical and contemporary documentary secondary sources. This is complemented by the analyses of selected documented interviews and special reports on aspects of society, economy and politics in the country. The article’s framework of analysis draws strength from a combination of role and ecological theories, though it adopts an interpretative research methodology.Results: It finds out that the ecology of public policies in Nigeria plays a critical role in the gap that exists between policy formulation and implementation.Conclusion: In its conclusion and recommendations, the article draws examples of best practices from around the world.

Work on wheels: collective organising of motorcycle taxis in Nigerian cities

This article examines the political economy of collective organising in the motorcycle taxi economy of Nigerian cities. Using the mixed-methods approach, this study demonstrates the nature and problems of collective organising in the motorcycle taxi economy. It notes that implementation of a neo-liberal development policy in Nigeria in the 1980s gave rise to job losses and catalysed the creation of a motorcycle taxi sub-system as a livelihood. While collective organising in the motorcycle taxi sub-system is sometimes exploited to advance the ambition of some politicians, the informal economy is often paradoxically victimised through the initiation and implementation of hostile urban policies, such as banning motorcycle taxis, soon after electoral mandates are secured. This paper, however, argues that despite the challenges, collective organising represents a struggle to influence urban policy and could present an opportunity for a new form of engagement between the state and the informal economy in development policy and urban governance.

Driving local community transformation through participatory rural entrepreneurship development

Purpose – Rural entrepreneurship development and employment generation are fundamental to enhancing local-level progress and transformation. Achieving gainful employment in rural communities contributes immensely to the realisation of the potential of people living in remote communities. The purpose of this paper is to present a ten-stage practical approach for enhancing rural entrepreneurship development as a major driver of local community transformation and development. Design/methodology/approach – The action research was preceded by a preliminary study, which identified some crucial factors associated with the success of rural entrepreneurial activities in rural Lagos, Nigeria. The research, which is an offshoot of the earlier field survey, was designed to engage viable community-based organisations (CBOs) in Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry and Lekki communities for the implementation of context-specific rural entrepreneurship development projects through the provision of “non-serviceable” revolving loans. Findings – Successful funded rural entrepreneurs and CBOs served as veritable models for driving entrepreneurship development and employment promotion in rural Lagos, Nigeria. Projects funded included artisanal fisheries, barbering salons, piggeries and snail production. Practical implications – The projects which generated employment opportunities for rural youths and other able-bodied community members serve as a strategy for lifting people out of poverty. The action research was designed to inform rural development policy in Nigeria and other similar economies in the south. Originality/value – The study outlines a step-by-step process of entrepreneurship development project implementation.

Strategies and incentives for enhancing the application of health impact assessment (HIA) in Nigeria: a view from those who should know

In consonance with the paradigm shift from curative to more preventive healthcare, there has been an increasing application of health impact assessment (HIA) in many developed countries. However, progress towards the integration of HIA into public policy in many developing countries has been comparatively very slow. This article is a primary research to evaluate the barriers and motivational factors; and to proffer effective strategies and incentives for enhancing the application of HIA in health and development policies in Nigeria. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed and primarily disseminated online to a random sample of health and non-health professionals, public service workers, policy-makers and business entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Additional questionnaires were also hand-delivered. Inferential statistics was used in the analysis of the 510 responses that were received. The findings show that 71% of the respondents had never heard about HIA, and 80.7% of those who were aware of HIA had not received any form of HIA training. However, 86.6% of the informed group strongly agreed that HIA is a necessary tool for effective public health delivery, indicating a high level of motivation and expectations about the contributions that HIA can make towards improving public health in Nigeria. It is therefore important to raise the level of awareness and training of HIA practitioners, and also political commitment for HIA. Similarly, the HIA process should be people-centred, emphasise on corporate social responsibilities and also focus on the determinants of communicable diseases in order to be relevant and sustainable in Nigeria.

Energy resource structure and on-going sustainable development policy in Nigeria: a review

Nigeria is rich in both conventional and renewable energy resources that empower the country with a large capacity to develop an effective national energy policy. The study aims at reviewing the current energy resource structure of Nigeria in terms of production and utilization, comparing sectoral performance and reviewing issues confronting energy growth, sustainability, policies and frameworks towards the actualization of energy effi- ciency. The total energy consumption in 2011 was 28.8 million tons of oil equivalent about 5.4 % of the world value in 2010. Nigeria share of world CO2 emissions in 2011 was 0.32 % and a drop of 0.02 % in 2010. In addressing the country's challenges of energy demand, production, consumption and related environmental prob- lems, the government has initiated sustainable and effec- tive energy conservation strategies to improve efficiency. These include: reduction of energy consumption at the household sector, reduction of gas flaring, adoption and maximum renewable energy technologies, reduction of energy intensity in industries by appropriate energy con- servation and management system. In addition, the policies also include the development and integration of alternative energy resources such as nuclear, biomass, wind and solar into the total energy mix structure. For all these to be accomplished, the energy development strategy must fol- low a sustainable framework to balance economic growth, social expansion and eco-friendly protection.

Solid Waste Governance1 Innovations: An Appraisal of Recent Developments in the Informal Sector Niche in Urban Nigeria

AbstractRecent research in solid waste governance in Nigeria has paid considerable attention to the activities in the informal sector. Innovations related to social dynamics and entrepreneurship initiatives of the sector have been quite remarkable. Opinions have, however, differed on the real significance of informal sector innovations within the solid waste governance sphere. Applying the viewpoint of social innovation on recent research on the informal waste sector in Nigeria, this study appraises how social inclusion initiatives and sense of participation have driven developments in the sector. The aim is to extend the debate on the desirability of the informal sector niche and its relevance to urban development policy in Nigeria. The study argues that given its observed socially innovative initiatives in solid waste governance, the informal waste sector in Nigeria is deserving of development and policy support. Implications of informal sector solid waste governance for geographic research in Nigeria are also examined.

On strategies for effective implementation of rural development policies in Nigeria: the ‘integrative/ co-operative' model to the rescue

Policy implementation is about the most critical dimension in the policy process given the fact that success or failure of any given policy is, to a high degree, a function of implementation. The need for effective implementation strategy (ies) is emphasized in this paper. The need, the paper argues, is an urgent one and more acute for the rural areas where the quality of life remain abysmally poor due largely to long period of neglect and unrewarding implementation of most policies directed at addressing the problem of rural underdevelopment in Nigeria. Analysis of dominant conceptual models (Grindle's, Iglesias' and Smith's) and strategies for implementing rural development policies, namely, the ‘government-led' and the ‘community-led' show gross inadequacies arising from their basic nature. The noted inadequacies compelled a search for appropriate alternative. The outcome of the search is the ‘Integrative / Co-operative' strategy proposed in the paper. The hope is that, regardless of whatever shortcoming that may be associated with it, the ‘Integrative / Co-operative' strategy holds the greater promise in our drive towards a more effective implementation of rural development policies in Nigeria. We in the Planning commission and others concerned have grown more expert in planning. But the real question is not planning. But the real question is not planning but implementing the Plan. That is the real question before the country. I fear we are not quite as expert implementation as at planning. Nehru, on Indian situation Keywords: Effective Policy Implementation, Strategy/Model, Integrative/ Co-operative. (Global Journal of Social Sciences: 2003 2 (1): 1-14)

Characteristics of Health Care Resource Problems in Nigeria

(1983). Characteristics of Health Care Resource Problems in Nigeria. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des etudes africaines: Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 235-238.