Federal Government Of Nigeria Research Articles

A Policy Evaluation of the Anchor Borrowers Programme and Smallholder Farmers in The Federal Capital Territory, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja

The paper has carried out an evaluation of the Anchor Borrowers programme of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari implemented through the Central Bank of Nigeria. this agricultural support programme was established in 2015, an agricultural policy, which is targeted at assisting the small-scale farmers in different forms so as to boost their productivity, income improvement, reduce unemployment and above all achieve food security. The desire of this paper is to attempt an in-depth study as regards the effect of Anchor Borrowers’ Programme on smallholder farmers and food security in Nigeria. This study relied on both primary and secondary data. Questionnaire was used to source the primary data and was administered to respondents in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The theoretical frameworks adopted for this study were modernization theory and Keynesian theory of economic development. It was discovered that the introduction of the anchor borrowers’ programme was with very good intentions by the Federal government of Nigeria (FGN) and as such the necessary tools were put in place for the implementation. The study concludes that Anchor Borrowers’ Initiative has empowered smallholder farmers in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja towards boosting farmers’ productivity and achieving food security even in the face of confrontational challenges. The paper recommended that loans should be directly given to farmers instead of through politicians and farmers should be more sensitized on the scheme in the remote villages so that they could benefit more from this initiative.

The Effect of Endsars Protest on Small and Medium Enterprises (Sme’s) In Lagos State

This study is centered on the effect of EndSars protest on small and medium enterprises (SME’S) in Lagos State. The specific objectives of this study are to examine the causes of the EndSars protest among youths in Lagos State; and also, to find out if the EndSars protest has any effect on Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos State. Three hypotheses were drawn from the research questions and a self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the relationship between the variables using the filled questionnaires of 350 respondents of entrepreneurs in Ikeja Local Government Council. The analysis of collected data was done through the simple percentage and used Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis to test the hypothesis within the study. It was found that that there is a significant positive relationship between EndSars protest and SME among Nigerian youths in Lagos state also there is a significant positive relationship between causes of EndSars protest and Small and Medium Enterprises in Lagos state. Based on the findings, the study concluded that EndSars protest and Nigerian youths affect SME in Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that the federal government of Nigeria should look into the reasons behind the protest that caused chaos and uproar in all the 36 states in Nigeria and enact laws and structures that bring to an end the brutality of SARS in Nigeria.

Assessing Education from Space: Using Satellite Earth Observation to Quantify Overcrowding in Primary Schools in Rural Areas of Nigeria

Nigeria is a country with a rapidly growing youthful population and the availability of good quality education for all is a key priority in the sustainable development of the country. An important element of this is the need to improve access to high-quality primary education in rural areas. A key indicator for progress on this is the provision of adequate classroom space for the more than 20 million learners in Nigerian public schools because overpopulated classrooms are known to have a strong negative impact on the performance of both pupils and their teachers. However, it can be challenging to rapidly monitor this indicator for the over 60 thousand primary schools, especially in rural areas. In this research, we used satellite Earth Observation (EO) and Nigerian government data to determine the size of available teaching spaces and evaluate the degree of overcrowding in a sample of 1900 randomly selected rural primary schools across 19 Nigerian states spanning all regions of the country. Our analysis shows that 81.4% of the schools examined were overcrowded according to the minimum standard threshold for school size of at least 1.2 m2 of classroom space per pupil defined by the Federal Government of Nigeria. Such overcrowding can be expected to have a negative impact on educational performance, on achieving universal basic education and UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 (Quality Education), and it can lead to poverty. While measuring floor area can be performed manually on site, collecting, and reporting such data for the number of rural primary schools in a large and populous country such as Nigeria is a serious, time-consuming administrative task with considerable potential for errors and data gaps. Satellite EO data are readily available including for remote areas, are reproducible and are easy to update over time. This paper provides a proof-of-concept example of how such EO data can contribute to addressing this socio-economic dimension of the SDGs framework.

RESTRUCTURING NATIONAL LANGUAGE POLICY IN NIGERIA: A NEW DIRECTION TO EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The emergence of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme in Nigeria was in September 1999. The Programme was amended in 2008 by the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC). This yielded a great landmark for introducing and developing the 9-Year Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) which was aimed enabling every Nigerian citizen access to equivalent education comprehensively and coeducationally. Similarly, Nigeria's national language policy which focused on the official structure of the English language as an official medium of instruction from primary four to subsequent levels of education, while the mother tongue or the language of the immediate community to be the medium of instruction at pre-primary and early primary levels has left a wide gap which may serve as one of the factors or reasons that may affect the communicative competence of pupils or learners in handling English as a subject or medium of instruction. Especially, considering the designed objectives of inculcating in the school childrens’ permanent literacy, numeracy and the ability to communicate effectively which lays the concrete educational foundation of pupils in terms of language development. The common criticisms or observations that this paper may raise on the issue of language policy and that of UBE is lack of a well-articulated transition from the mother tongue to English, or lack of proper implementation of the policy, as language cannot be properly taught using another language. Therefore, the paper draws the attention of policymakers and curriculum designers in revising and restructuring the language policy in order to ascertain the objectives designed by UBE and the educational policy in general.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0940/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

International Balance of Payment and Economic Growth in Nigeria (1990- 2019)

This study dwelt on balance of payments and the growth of Nigeria’s economy between the periods 1990 to 2019.The study's main goal was to analyse the impact of the balance of payments on the Nigerian economy's growth. This research relied on secondary data from the Central Bank of Nigeria's statistical bulletin 2019. The dependent variable was real gross domestic product, whereas the independent variables were oil export, non-oil export, oil import, and non-oil import. The variables were found to be stationary at the first difference using a unit root test (1). As a result, the co-integration test was used, which revealed a long-term link between the variables. The paper used the Vector error correction model (VECM) and discovered that in the long run, the short-run disequilibrium can be addressed at a rate of 0.03 percent. As a result, we find that the balance of payment position has little impact on Nigeria's economic growth. As a result, it was suggested, among other things, that Nigeria's federal government implement more export-friendly regulations on balance of payment issues in order to boost economic growth.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICT AND UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP) REPORT: AN APPRAISAL OF THE CLEAN-UP IN OGONI

The people of Ogoni over the years have been at logger heads with the federal government of Nigeria and the Multinational Company, Shell over the long period of oil exploration and exploitation on their land without any noticeable development, instead the environment was polluted. This is revealed by UNEP and shows that the Ogoni people have suffered grave consequences owing to the oil pollution of their land. Upon the recommendations of UNEP, the Federal Government agreed to clean up Ogoniland so as to save the people’s lives and their environment. Against, this background, this study examined the environmental conflict and UNEP report in Ogoniland, with a view to appraising the clean-up projects in Ogoni. The study was exploratory and descriptive in design, thus the study relied on content analysis. Max Weber’s strand of conflict theory was adopted as theoretical guide. Four objectives and corresponding four research questions were posed. In proffering answers to the questions, it was revealed that the several years of oil pollution in Ogoni breeds environmental pollution and grave dangers for the Ogonis. Thus, the clean-up was meant to clean the environment and restore the economy, wealth and health of the Ogonis. However, the present state of the clean-up is slow, delayed and reveals a lackadaisical attitude of the government which implies that the Ogonis are continuously affected by the hazard on daily basis.

Advocacy and Use of Advocates as a Quick Win in Scaling Up Biofortification in Nigeria: The Case of Building Nutritious Food Basket (BNFB) Project

The Building Nutritious Food Baskets (BNFB) Project explored advocacy and the use of advocates as a model strategy for scaling up biofortification in Nigeria during its three-year implementation. In addition to its direct advocacy efforts, the BNFB project identified and selected key personnel across disciplines, gender and sectors, based on some selected criteria, as Advocates to support the scaling up of biofortification by raise of investments, resource mobilization, the inclusion of biofortification in relevant policy documents, strategies and plans of action. To realize these, the selected 32 Advocates were empowered to mainstream biofortification into their existing and/or potential programs/projects, as well as create awareness and demand for biofortified crops within their spheres of influence. Training and retreats were organized for the Advocates to strengthen their capacities in advocacy and promotion of biofortification and biofortified crops, while a social platform was launched to share opportunities, experiences and address issues around biofortification within the Advocates. As a result of these efforts, biofortification was included in three key national policies, strategies/plans of actions with resource allocation, and investments, over USD3 million were raised for biofortification. The Federal Government of Nigeria and some external governments became committed to biofortification programs while biofortified crops were mainstreamed in at least two national programs in Nigeria. Biofortified crops were included in the Home-Grown School Feeding Program of two states. The use of Advocates proved to be a resultful strategy in the biofortification scaling up model of BNFB as the advocates, upon being trained, looked out within their sectors and disciplines to mainstream biofortification into their programs. They gave timely information on potential opportunities to follow up with in influencing favorable policies; they mobilized resources nationally, regionally and locally; they facilitated wider coverage of biofortification within a short time. However, the influence of the Advocates was limited to their number and locations; thus, for a quick win in Nigeria, there is a need to raise advocates in all the 36 states of the country while giving equal priority to national and state level advocacy. As a lesson, to engender adoption of biofortification, participation/leveraging on existing programs in advocacy works faster and easier than starting afresh in Nigeria.

Infrastructural development in Yewa south local government area in Ogun state, Nigeria

This research assessed community involvement in infrastructure development in Ogun State's Yewa South Local Government Area. For countries with poor economies, providing public infrastructure is a difficult endeavour due to the enormous resources needed. The Federal Government of Nigeria has been tackling the slow pace of infrastructural development in the country. Nigeria's inability to adequately manage its resources has resulted in numerous setbacks in the development and management of the country's public infrastructure. A systematic random sampling was adopted for the study and a total number of 195 people were interviewed, and from the result it was established that there is a positive relationship between community participation, sustainability, access and utilisation of public infrastructure. Infrastructural development has a strong relationship to economical growth and the well-being of the poor in any developing society. Similarly, involving the community in infrastructure planning aids in mobilizing sufficient resources from the federal government and the community for the implementation of essential projects. Community participation also help to ensure sustainability of the projects implemented. It was concluded that mass orientation or drive in community participation, and effective resource management must be intensified in order to enhance rapid growth in development of public infrastructure.

Prevalence of Dental Disease and Risk to Oral Health in Oke-Ogun Rural Communities

The importance of oral health and the general health of an individual are interwoven such that if the oral health is poor, the general health would also be poor. There has been an increase in the interest of researchers in the state of the oral health because of the deleterious effects a poor oral health can have on the general health. While the prevalence of oral diseases has been reported to be on the increase worldwide, this paper presents a report on the prevalence of oral diseases in 10 rural communities known as Oke-ogun communities in Oyo State of Nigeria. Cleft and Facial Deformity Foundation (CFDF), an indigenous non-governmental organization (NGO) organized an outreach program, with permission from the State Health Ministry, to examine, diagnose dental diseases, and carry out free surgeries for patients in the visited communities. The program was for two weeks and was divided in phases with the first phase done in May 2019 and second phase in September 2019. Among 1396 respondents, 43.6% complained of toothaches with more female than male presenting with that complain. Also, 511 (36.6%) were reported to have gingivitis and 51 (3.7%) had dental caries. Furthermore, gingivitis and chronic periodontitis were more common in males 776 (55.6%) than females 620 (44.4%) and this was statistically significant at ≤0.002. Periodontal disease was found to be more prevalent in Oke-ogun communities in Oyo state, and this called for urgent intervention strategies by the federal government of Nigeria, non-governmental organizations (NGO) and the international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) since the poor oral health would eventually translate to poor general health.

Agricultural Commodity Export and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product Between 2009 to 2018

Agricultural exports have undoubtedly played a crucial role in boosting Nigerian economic growth and other sub-Saharan countries. It has been contributing to foreign-exchange earnings in Nigeria and is used to promote other capital projects. Agriculture has been the main contributor to the Nigerian external sector before the discovery of oil. This study evaluates the linkage between selected agricultural commodity export and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2009 and 2018. The work is quantitative, it adopts a descriptive research design where data on Sesame Seed Export (SSX), Cashew Export (CAX), Cocoa Beans Export (CBX), Exchange Rate (ER), Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF), Real Gross Domestic Product (RGDP) and Agricultural Commodity Export (AGEX) were sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin and the United Nations’ Commercial Trade Statistics. It employed descriptive statistics, the Ordinary Least Square method of Regression analysis and the Granger Causality test with the aid of Econometric Views (EVIEWS) software version 10.0. The findings revealed that there is no Granger causality between Agricultural Commodity Exports and Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. It also found that Sesame Seeds Export has a significant effect on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product within the period under study and Raw Cocoa Beans Export has a significant effect on Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. It also revealed that there is no relationship between Agricultural Commodity Export and Gross Fixed Capital Formation in Nigeria. The study, therefore, recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture should support the participation of the private sector in the agricultural industry to increase total output, and also look beyond the production for national use to increase the exportation of the produce.

Prospects for Online Instructional Delivery Using Google Classrooms: Implications for Higher Education in Sub-Sahara Africa

Technology is relevant in achieving educational development. Exploring how best to pattern and incorporate educational technology to engender sustainability remains relevant. It is against this backdrop that this study examined the Prospect of online instructional delivery in sub-Saharan African Universities using Google Classrooms ascertained concerning usability and accessibility while examining impending challenges. This study adopted a descriptive survey design. The study population was undergraduates enrolled at the University of Ilorin, Nigeria, a public institution owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the most soughed institution in terms of admission in the country. The target population was teacher trainees exposed to online instructional using Google Classrooms for 2018/2019 academic session. The study participants were purposively sampled; a total of 1933 participants. Data were gathered using a researcher designed questionnaire which was face and content validated. Three research questions were stated to examine accessibility, usability and challenges while the tested hypotheses were concerning prospects of Google Classroom for University of Ilorin undergraduates' learning across gender and departmental divides. Both descriptive statistics (Research Questions) and inferential statistics (Hypothesis) were employed in analysing data collected gathered. Significant findings revealed that Google Classroom holds prospects for innovative instructional approach for university undergraduates’ learning. However, there is a need to improve its level of accessibility to undergraduates to maximise its gains by making efforts to alleviate the challenges militating against smooth access to ensure sustainability in higher education in sub-Saharan Africa, apt in the current pandemic era.

Aggregated Technical Commercial and Collection Loss Mitigation Through a Smart Metering Application Strategy

The privatization exercise that led to the creation of 11 distribution companies (Discos) is yet to yield the result of meeting the electricity supply needs of Nigeria. It is in realization of this fact that the Federal Government of Nigeria recently made different proposals and regulations to increase efficiency, availability, and competitiveness within the power industry. This article establishes a technical gain ratio to measure the impact of scaling up smart metering on the aggregated technical commercial and collection (ATC&C) losses. The ATC&C loss is the difference between the amount of electricity received by a distribution company from the transmission company and the amount of electricity for which it invoices its customers plus the adjusted collections loss. To achieve this objective, reviews of historical data of the Discos ATC&C losses and customers’ metering records as published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 were carried out. In addition, efforts were made to mathematically model the relationship between % metering and % ATC&C losses as this was the framework to help carry out effective forecasts and analyses of the study in order to show the impact level of the strategy employed. One of the salient technical contributions of this article was that it established that for every 1% increase in metering installation, there is a proportionate 0.8% decrease in ATC&C losses, provided all other factors responsible for technical and commercial losses remain constant. Consequently, improved ATC&C loss reduction would be achieved if Discos adopt a combination of other strategies that would ensure reduction in technical and commercial losses in addition to aggressive deployment of meter assets. However, in practice, factors causing technical and commercial losses are never constant as system components depreciate/burn out with time, energy theft, and pilferage, and meter tamper/bypass is on the increase daily; meter deployment is not aggressive enough to match utility customers’ growth. Hence, the adoption of combined modern strategies in addition to aggressive metering in tandem with customers’ growth has to be employed by Discos in a deliberate attempt to reduce ATC&C losses.

Mitigating COVID-19 effects on farmers: The role of commissioners of agriculture in Nigeria

In Nigeria, agriculture plays a critical role in the economy and remains the key to the country’s economic diversification plan. However, the agricultural sector is facing numerous challenges such as climate change, widespread insecurity, price volatility, poor government policies and the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the already existing problems. This paper reviews the state of the COVID 19 pandemic in Nigeria and its effects on the agricultural sector and outlines the role of commissioners of agriculture in mitigating the effects of the pandemic on farmers with a view to catalyzing sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria. When the first case of COVID-19 was reported in February, 2020, the Federal government of Nigeria took some measures to help curb the spread of the virus. Although, these measures were critical to saving lives, they also significantly caused a disruption in agricultural activities and food systems in several ways such as decline in availability of farm labour and mechanization, limited availability of agricultural inputs, decline in food imports and exports, reduction in food supply, decline in household income and food consumption, increased food insecurity, panic buying and sharp price spikes. This paper suggests that commissioners of agriculture have important roles to play to help mitigate these negative impacts on agricultural livelihoods and food systems. These include a push for a bill to integrate social protection mechanisms into the Nigerian legal framework, lobby for increased budgetary allocation to the agricultural sector, formulation of good agricultural policies and provision of adequate infrastructures, organization of these farmers into farming clusters to help stimulate agglomeration economies by integrating agricultural value chains and development strategies, and frameworks and initiatives that will ensure a seamless transition from emergency response to resilience building.
 Key words: Coronavirus disease, government interventions, agrarian development, food production

Applicability of emergency management theory in the management of Covid-19 health pandemic in Nigeria

Emergency has become a global reoccurrence and when it occurs in a country, the government usually adopt measures to curtail the negative effects of the phenomenon. COVID-19 as the present global emergency needs to be tackled with proper and effective management measures. The principles of Emergency Management Theory are among the global highly rated and most common measures used to tackle emergencies to achieve minimal effect on lives and economies. It is based on the above statements that this study examined the Application of the principles of Emergency Management Theory in the Federal Government of Nigeria‟s management of COVID-19 to ascertain the extent the Federal Government is utilizing the theory‟s principles in its fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. The study utilized the secondary method of data collection and used observations and documents as its tools of evaluation. The study found that the principles of Emergency Management Theory have been applied by the Federal Government in the management of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The study concludes that the application of the principles Emergency Management Theory in the management of COVID-19 has greatly enhanced Government‟s efforts in the fight against the disease in Nigeria. To improve on emergency management in Nigeria, the study recommended that: Individual researchers and research institutes be supported to develop more proactive ways of dealing with emergencies in the country and Nigerians should all be re-orientated and sensitized on how to prevent, respond and deal with emergencies.

HOUSEHOLDS PRACTICE AND AWARENESS DIMENSION ON THE RECYCLING OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN KANO METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Electronic waste generation has been increasing at a rate three times faster than that of general waste stream. Developing nations like Nigeria bear the consequences as it is estimated that 500 containers, each carrying about 500,000 used computers and other electronic equipment, enter Nigeria’s ports every month from the United States, Europe and Asia. To this effect, The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the Federal Government of Nigeria have announced a $15 million initiative to establish an electronic system in Nigeria, which will pioneer safe e-waste recycling in the country. It is against this background that this study was conducted to determine the households’ awareness and practice towards the recycling of e-waste, as well as the most suitable collection pattern within Kano Metropolis. The data for this study was collected using Open Data Kit (ODK) mobile phone platform, which contained questions on households’ characteristics, current practices regarding disposal and recycling of electronic waste as well as their awareness dimension on the recycling of e-waste. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to estimate the average number of unused households’ appliances and also to analyse household awareness and practice. The awareness dimension of the surveyed households about recycling of electronic waste was determined and 97% of the households are aware of the significance of electronic waste recycling. The positive statements presented about awareness indicates a positive awareness dimension about the significance of recycling electronic waste. Among the sampled households, 23% engage in e-waste recycling, and they all do this by selling their wastes (electronic waste, inclusive) to house-to-house scavengers. Majority of the households (77.4%) do not recycle electronic waste. They either keep them at home for decoration, give them out for free, burn them or dispose them in open dumpsites. The average quantity of e-waste prese

UTILIZATION OF E-LEARNING RESOURCES AMONG LECTURERS IN NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY STUDY CENTERS IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

Despite the effort of the Federal Government of Nigeria to enhance the quality of the learning process in Nigerian universities by introducing the use of ICT resources in schools through which lecturers will acquire knowledge and skills that would enable them source the internet and utilize e-learning resources for qualitative teaching, the attainment of the e-learning objectives in National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) appears elusive. The study investigated the utilization of e-learning resources among lecturers in National Open University study centers in South East Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study, while survey design was adopted. The population of the study comprised all the 724 facilitators in National Open University study centers, South East Nigeria. The sample size comprised 84 lecturers obtained through simple random sampling and accidental sampling techniques. Questionnaire was used to collect data. The reliabilities of the clusters in the instrument which were ascertained with Cronbach alpha method were found to be 0.71, 0.80 and 0.77. The data collected were analyzed using mean. The findings of the study revealed that many of the lecturers utilized e-learning resources for instructional delivery, research purposes and evaluation purposes. Based on the findings, it was recommended that University administrators should promote the use of e learning among lecturers by providing technologically enhanced libraries in order to support the use of e learning for the tripartite purposes of instructional delivery, research and evaluation.
 
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Ownership of Oil and Gas in Nigeria: A Need for Paradigm Shift?

Nigeria is one of the African’s largest producers of crude oil. The current capacity of oil production stands between 250-300 million barrels per day. Unfortunately, the country has been and is being going through a lot of crisis especially in the oil producing areas of Nigeria, the reason being that the ownership of oil being in the hands of the state (Federal Government of Nigeria) right from the colonial era to date has brought a lot of dissatisfaction, ill or mistreatment, neglect and under development among the people where the oil is produced. There are various legislations in Nigeria including the present 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which confer the ownership and control of oil and gas in the Federal Government of Nigeria. This research is therefore, to examine these extant laws that confer ownership in the Federal Government and see if there are problems vis-a-vis the various agitations by the indigenes of the oil producing areas and see if there will be a need for paradigm shift in the ownership. This will be done by looking at other jurisdictions where oil is produced and if possible to suggest the best practice rule for Nigeria for a peaceful environment in the oil producing areas of Nigeria.

Prevalence and predictors of Kaposi’s sarcoma among HIV patients receiving care at a tertiary hospital in Jos, Nigeria

Background Kaposi’s sarcoma became prevalent with the appearance of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) in the 1980s. However, the widespread use of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) reduced its prevalence in communities with good access to the antiretroviral drugs. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and predictors of Kaposi’s sarcoma among persons receiving HIV care at a tertiary hospital in Jos, Nigeria. Methods The study used a cross-sectional study design, based on secondary data related to patients who had received HIV care between January 2004 and December 2017. Logistic regression was then used to determine the variables that were predictors of Kaposi’s sarcoma risk. Results The prevalence of Kaposi’s sarcoma among the patients was 1.2% (95% confidence interval, CI=1.06-1.34). Patients whose baseline viral loads were higher than 10,000 copies/mm3 were three times more likely to develop Kaposi’s sarcoma than those with lesser viral load (OR: 3.13, CI: 2.19-4.47). Gender, duration of HAART and education had modifying effect on the Kaposi’s sarcoma risk. Conclusions Kaposi’s sarcoma is a substantial public health problem among the HIV population in Jos. Universal access to HAART by the Federal Government of Nigeria and its partners is recommended to reduce its prevalence. In addition, education, skill acquisition and income generating programs should be targeted at girls and women by governments and other stakeholders in order to reduce the inequality that worsens their vulnerability to HIV infection and Kaposi’s sarcoma.

Castration as Punishment for Rape in Kaduna State, Nigeria: Beaming Searchlight from Reproductive Health Right Perspective

The increasing incidence of rape and sexual offences in Nigeria is not only alarming but disheartening. Several efforts have made by the federal government of Nigeria and various state governments to address the social menace, like opening sex offenders’ register, practice of naming and shaming, imposing life sentences for convicted offenders, among other steps. In all these however, the heinous crime of rape and sexual offences have not been curtailed in the country, rather it is on the increase. Kaduna state government of Nigeria, in an attempt to tackle the crime, proceeded to amend the state’s Penal Code and prescribed castration as appropriate punishment for convicted perpetrators of rape. As commendable as this may be, how effective can it serve as deterrence and does the punishment of castration fall within the goals of penology? More importantly, is castration tantamount to an abuse of reproductive health rights of the convict? These are the issues addressed in this article. The aim of this article is therefore to examine castration as punishment for the offence of rape from the perspective of criminal law and human rights. The findings of the research revealed that castration as punishment for the offence of rape in Kaduna state is a way too far, and may amount to retaliation rather than deterrence. The research concludes that cutting an aching head is not the solution to the headache, hence there are other ways to curb the rampant rape of rape than a punishment that violates reproductive health rights of the convict. Keywords : punishment, castration, rape, perpetrators, reproductive health DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/110-01 Publication date: June 30 th 2021

English

In December 2019, news broke out that a novel coronavirus has hit the city of Wuhan, China. It was reported that the SARS-CoV2 virus is responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted severely on the country. As expected, the pandemic has worsened the fate of the poor and most vulnerable households in Nigeria. To cushion the impact, the federal government of Nigeria (FGN) has instituted various palliative measures including cash grants of N5,000 (US$14) monthly to approximately 1 million vulnerable households. However, a review of these measures shows that they are grossly inadequate and incapable of any meaningful impact on the suffering of the masses. The government is clearly hamstrung in this regard due to huge shortfalls in revenue as a result of the pandemic. To this end, the study reviewed the contributory pension scheme in Nigeria and recommended that government should leverage on the pension fund which is currently in excess of ?7 trillion. The study argued that government should amend the extant regulatory framework for recovery of pension contribution to enable the contributors to access up to 30% of their contributions to help cushion the effect of the coronavirus pandemic. These withdrawals will be restored through increased accretion to the funds by government and private sector employers when normalcy returns to the country. This will help to alleviate the sufferings of over 9 million Nigerians who are currently enrolled on the pension scheme.   Key words: COVID-19, poverty alleviation, contributory pension, pension funds.