North Local Government Research Articles

Ethnobotany and phytochemical analysis of Jatropha Tanjorensis in Mubi Adamawa State, Nigeria

This study was focused on the ethanobotanical survey, phytochemical and proximate analysis of Jatropha tanjorensis in Mubi. The ethnobotanical survey was carried out in some selected parts of both Mubi North and South local government area through oral interview using traditional medicine practioners and some householders as the interviewee. After air drying, pulverizing and extracting the bioactive constituents of the leaf using ethanol and water as solvents, the phytochemical and proximate analysis were carried out using a standard procedures. The ethnobotanical survey showed that, J. tanjorensis were used in the study area as a remedy to diseases such as: measles, scabies, malaria, high blood pressure, stomach ache, diabetes mellitus, eczema and anaemia with 74 % of the interviewee mentioning leaves as part mostly used. The qualitative phytochemical screening indicated the presence of compounds, namely: tannins, alkaloids, phenols, flavonoids, saponins, terpenoids, glycosides and anthraquinones in both the ethanoic and aqueous leaf extracts except terpenoids which was not detected in the ethanolic extract. The quantitative analysis showed glycosides (4.12 mg/100 g) and flavonoids (3.45 mg/100 g) as the highest compound in the ethanolic and aqueous extracts respectively. Carbohydrate was shown to be the highest proximate constituent with 52.38 % and fat the least with 1.76 %. Therefore, J. tanjorensis is rich in bioactive constituents and the leaves are mostly the plant part used as a remedy to illnesses such measles, scabies, malaria, high blood pressure, stomach ache, diabetes mellitus, eczema and anaemia.

Education for All” Policy and Resource Management in Anambra State Public Secondary Schools. A Case Study of Some Selected Schools in Onitsha North and South Local Government Areas of Anambra State, Nigeria.

Education for All” Policy and Resource Management in Anambra State Public Secondary Schools. A Case Study of Some Selected Schools in Onitsha North and South Local Government Areas of Anambra State, Nigeria.

Comparison on the Effect of Freezing Period Between the Protein Content of Cow, Goat, Ram Meat from Tilapia and Catfish from Kaduna State, Nigeria

This study was aimed at the evaluation of the influence of freezing on the meat/fish storage of cow, ram, goat, tilapia and catfish within a period of thirty (30) days. Samples were obtained from Kaduna North and South Local Government, Kaduna State, Nigeria. The protein content of all the meat samples were analysed using kjehdahl method and values was recorded before slaughter and the observed storage period. Among the meat category, the goat meat had the highest protein content at 46.37%, while the tilapia had the highest protein content of 45.50% in the fish category. The research showed that goat meat had more protein content than all the analysed samples, followed by tilapia and ram meat had the least protein content. After the thirty (30) days freezing and storage period, the protein content of both the goat and tilapia had dropped to 38.93% and 37.62%. Amongst all the samples, ram meat had the slowest protein content diminishing effect as storage period increased. The research also showed that as storage time increases via freezing, the protein content of the analysed samples also reduces with time. The protein content in all the meat and fish samples did not meet the benchmark for protein content values but were enough for consumption.

Fair Isle: half a century of change

ABSTRACTFair Isle is one of the best known of the Scottish islands having given its name to a shipping forecast region and to an internationally known style of knitting patterns and also because it has a world renowned bird observatory, and is the most remote of the inhabited British islands. Over the last five decades it has experienced major changes in its economic and social fabric, reflecting the influences of both endogenous and exogenous forces. This paper reviews and interprets those changes, utilising two surveys made fifty years apart using the same survey instrument and the same methodology in order to provide a basis for a consistent comparison. The paper discusses the changes that have taken place in agricultural practices, in infrastructure, in the economic base and the successful stabilisation of population numbers, and in tourism to the island, which reflect changes in ownership of the island and the impacts of North Sea development and local government re-organisation.

Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Some Herbs Commonly Consume in JOS North And JOS South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria.

Determination of Heavy Metals Concentration in Some Herbs Commonly Consume in JOS North And JOS South Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria.

IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL LOAN ON DRY SEASON FARMING IN MUBI METROPOLIS ADAMAWA STATE

Until recently, farming was predominantly a seasonal business in Nigeria where most cropping are observed during the raining season. Increase in demand for food couple with the recent government policy of diversification motivate people into dry season farming. Therefore, this paper investigates the impact of agricultural loan on dry season farming in Mubi metropolis. The methodology adopted was purely descriptive and data used were primarily sourced via questionnaire and interviews. Two sets of the dry season farmers were identified as: grain and vegetable farmers in the study area. A total of fifty (150) farmers were randomly selected within the metropolitan space of Mubi north and south local government areas. The Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics through frequency tables and percentages. It is evident from the analysis that 83% of the respondents were male and most of them were in their active ages: 18 to 59 years (93%). The study further revealed that 97% of the farmers’ farm sizes were below 0.76ha and 57% of which are inherited by the farmers while only 10% of the farmers enjoy government loan as 90% finance their farming by personal savings and other sources. Moreover, 40% of the farmers get assistance from politicians in form of farming tools. It is therefore concluded that most dry season farmers in Mubi metropolis do not enjoy agricultural loan from government even though the few that benefited from it testified for remarkable yield increase. The study recommends that government should come to the aid of dry season farmers by providing drainage generators, canals (tube), fertilizers, chemicals, loan and other assistance for more yield from the dry season farming in Mubi metropolis.

A Stochastic Model to Analyze and Predict Transmission Dynamics of Tuberculosis in Ede Kingdom of Osun State

In this study the stochastic process model for estimating the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) infection in Ede kingdom (Ede North and Ede South Local Government Areas) of Osun State was carried out. The probability generating function approach was used to solve the associated birth process model to obtain the estimate of TB incidence. Also time series analysis was carried out using JMulti software to predict future incidence rate of the disease in the study area. Based on Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, the autocorrelation and partial autocorrelation methods and a suitable model to forecast TB infection was obtained. The goodness of fit was measured using the Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) and Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC). Having satisfied all the model assumptions ARIMA (0,1,1) model with standard error, 6.37086 was found to be the best model for the forecast. It was observed that the forecasted series were close to the actual data series

An Investigation of Coat Colour Distribution of West African Dwarf Goats

This study was carried out to determine coat colour distribution of West African Dwarf (WAD) goat in Abeokuta North and South Local Government Areas of Ogun State, Nigeria. Three thousand, three hundred and ten (3310) WAD goats were randomly sampled consisting of 2511 (75.86%) does and 799 (24.14%) bucks. Animals were prevalently maintained on semi-intensive management. Various coat colours identified were black with highest frequency of 941 (28.42%), brown 436 (13.17%), badgerface 346 (10.45%), grey 254 (7.67%), buckskin 222 (6.70%), lateral belly 154 (4.65%), white and black 149 (4.50%), white and brown 134 (4.05%), white and black marking 105 (3.17%), black and white marking 92 (2.78%), spotted white 88 (2.66%), spotted black 80 (2.42%), blackmash 63 (1.90%), tan 61 (1.84%), white 57 (1.72%), bezoar 49 (1.48%), spotted brown 40 (1.21%), lateral stripes 33 (1.00%), with swiss marking having the lowest frequency of 6 (0.18%). The gene frequency was estimated using Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium equation which resulted as 0.70 and 0.30 for eumelanin and Phaeomelanin respectively. Chi-square (χ2) analysis was further carried out, which revealed that the difference between observed frequency and expected frequency was significant (P < 0.05) implying that the segregation in the area of study was not supported by Mendelian ratio of 3:1. High level of variation was observed in coat colour among goats in the areas studied with black coat colour being the predominant. Hence, conscious selection could be embarked upon to investigate the influence of coat colour on adaptation, thermoregulation, growth and productivity.

English

English

Breast cancer in Jos, Nigeria: An audit on knowledge, attitude, and practices

Objectives: The main purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of women concerning breast cancer in Jos and environs. Methods: A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 400 respondents within the age of 18 years and above residing in Jos North and South Local Government Areas of Plateau state. The data collected were then analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 software programmer. Results: Out of the 400 study populations, only 395 (98.8%) responded to the study and 209 (53.0%) of them fall within the age 18–27 years while 89 (22.6%) were within 28 and 37 years, with only 17.8% and 6.6% in the age groups of 38–47 and ≥48 years, respectively. Two hundred and twenty (55.6%) were single, 153 (38.8%) married, while 8 (2.3%) divorced/separated, and 11 (2.8%) were widowed. The highest number (172 [43.7%]) of the respondents had secondary certificates as their highest academic qualifications, followed by diploma/The Nigeria Certificate in Education/Community Health Extension Workers (25.1%) and first degree (20.8%). Nearly 95% of the respondents have heard of breast cancer, with 30.94% of them having knowledge of the risk factors, 59.9% knew the signs and symptoms of the disease, and their main source of information (35.8%) was the media. Most of the respondents had positive attitude toward the disease, but their cancer breast screening practices were generally poor as majority of them (47.1%) had no idea of the right age to initiate self-breast examination, with majority (28.4%) confessing not practicing self-breast examination very often, neither visiting medical practitioner for breast cancer examination and care. Conclusion: The result of this study shows positive attitudes of the respondents toward the disease though high percentage of them had poor knowledge on risk factors and average knowledge of the signs and symptoms of the disease, in addition to poor breast self-examination practices.

Determination of Conduct, Performance and Structure of Cowpea Marketing in Yola North and South Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Determination of Conduct, Performance and Structure of Cowpea Marketing in Yola North and South Local Government Areas of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Environmental Factors and Local Government Administration in Nigeria : A Study of Ede North and Ede South Local Government , Osun State , Nigeria 1999 - 2014

Environmental Factors and Local Government Administration in Nigeria : A Study of Ede North and Ede South Local Government , Osun State , Nigeria 1999 - 2014

Development of Water Quality Map for Ogbomoso Metropolis

The quality of water is usually strongly considered as criteria for its suitability for a purpose. Important physical, chemical and bacteriological properties form the basis to judge the quality of water. To determine whether a particular water sample is of acceptable quality for drinking, it is necessary to compare its properties with the regulatory limits of certain well known and accepted standards set by organizations like World Health Organization, US Environmental Protection Agency, Nigeria International Standards etc. The focus of this project is to investigate the extent of contaminants in the available water sources and the causative agents in Ogbomoso North and South Metropolis. 100 water samples were collected through an evenly spread sample point positioning system across the study area, to give an averagely accurate analysis of the result. The Physical properties like Temperature, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids; Chemical parameters like Heavy metal concentration and Bacteriological parameters like E-Coli and T-Coli coliform count were analysed and the results were compared with regulatory limits. From the results derived, the physical parameters of tested water samples fall within the WHO standard limits. However, water samples in Ogbomoso North and South Local Government Area contain E-Coli and T-Coli concentration that exceeds the WHO standard of 0 MPN/ 100ml. Wards like Ilogbo (Papa Abede) and Ilogbo/ Arada were found to contain high concentration of Iron that exceeds the acceptable 1 mg/l limit due to the presence of a number of dumpsites and light industries. Phosphate concentration in all water samples tested exceeded the WHO and NIS standard of 5 mg/l, which is as a result of uncontrolled septic waste and fertilizer run-off. The concentration of Manganese in all water samples across the study area also exceeded the 0.2 mg/l WHO and NIS standard for potable water as a result of the unchecked Industrial activities and vehicle emission in the area. Other areas with significant pollution cases especially Sulphate concentration that exceeds the WHO regulatory limit of 250 mg/l in water samples include Osupa and Jagun, this can be attributed to the number of the dumping sites present and action of leachates in the areas. The resulting health implication of these findings was discussed. A water quality map was developed to show the varying concentration of water properties across Ogbomoso North and South Local Government Area. The study suggests waste control activities be adopted in the study area and public enlightenment schemes to protect water sources in the area, as the task of reducing the extent of contaminants in water sources in Ogbomoso North and South LGA requires the effort of the residents, government and relative organizations.

Influence of Insecurity of School Environment on the Behaviour of Secondary School Students in Isiala-Ngwa North and South Local Government Areas of Abia State, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of insecurity of school environment on the behavior of secondary school students. A total of 200 students responded to a self-structured validated questionnaire designed for the study. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Independent samples t-tests were used in analysing the data. The findings revealed that Isiala-Ngwa North and South Local Government Areas were significantly different ( p .05) between the insecurity of private and public schools although private schools turned out to be slightly more insecure. Finally, no significant difference ( p > .05) was found between male and female students’ behaviour due to school environment insecurity. It is recommended that the government should strengthen and motivate its supervisory unit in the ministry of education to enable them carry effective supervision and monitoring of the state secondary schools. Keywords: insecurity, school environment, students’ behaviour, environment

Impact of Avian Influenza Outbreaks on Stakeholders in the Poultry Industry in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Avian influenza devastated the poultry industry and economy of Plateau State during the 2006 epidemic. A survey was conducted among some targeted stakeholders in the poultry industry in Jos north and Jos south local government areas of Plateau state using structured questionnaire to assess the impact of 2006 highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak on their businesses. A total of 84 questionnaires were administered among the stake holders in the poultry industry out of which 76 (90.5%) were returned and analyzed. The 76 stakeholders that returned their questionnaires included 8 (10.5%) veterinary drug sellers, 6 (7.9%) toll millers, 10 (13.2%) commercial feeds distributors, 8 (10.5%) feed raw material and 12(15.8%) poultry equipment sellers, 15 (19.7%) fowl and 17 (22.4%) egg sellers. There was a sharp decline to complete loss of income by egg and bird traders and more than 50% decline in the sale of poultry drugs and vaccines, toll milled and commercial feeds, poultry raw materials and equipment. The epidemic had a significant negative impact (loss) on toll millers (70%) and commercial feed distributors (74%), fowl (60%) and egg sellers (35%); poultry drug (50%), feed raw material (50%) and poultry equipment sellers (55%) and was more severe on commercial feed distributors. Poultry input providers should also be compensated as was done poultry farmers to minimize the effect of their losses.

Adolescents’ Attitude Towards Premarital Sex

The study was on the adolescents’ attitude towards premarital sex in Awka North and South Local Government Areas of Anambra State. The general purpose of study was identifying some of the attitudes of adolescents towards premarital sex, the major factors responsible for the attitudes of those adolescents towards premarital sex. And then suggest counselling techniques that will help in controlling the adolescent premarital sex. Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated the instrument used for data collection was questionnaire for the adolescents attitude towards premarital sex (AATPSQ). The statistical analyses used were mean and standard deviation for the research questions and t-test for the hypotheses. The findings of the study reveal that: Adolescents have not less than 20 permissive attitudes towards premarital sex and the views of the adolescents and adults parents on the adolescents’ attitude towards premarital sex do not differ significantly. It was recommended among others that the Guidance Counsellors in Counselling Association of Nigeria should work hard to create awareness through pastoral and group counselling to re-orientate the members of the society on the issues and problems of sex. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p491

Prevalence of Endoparasites of Horses in Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas of Plateau State Nigeria

Parasitism is the most common and economically devastating disease of horses. The study was therefore conducted to determine the prevalence of endoparasites of horses in Jos metropolis. Blood and fecal samples were collected from 83 horses comprising of 48 males and 35 females, the eighty three horses sampled were the available at the time of sampling. Samples were processed and examined for gastrointestinal and haemoparasites infection. The prevalence was 74.7% for gastrointestinal parasites and 36.1% for haemoparasites infection. Only one horse (1.00%) was found to have gastrointestinal and haemoparasites infection. The prevalence of hemoparasites was found to be higher (43.9%) in females than in males (31.3%). Species of gastrointestinal parasites identified were, Trichonema spp 30 (31.70%), Triodontophorus tenuicollis 35 (55.60%) and Gastrodiscus aegyptiacus 10 (12.70%). Haemoparasites identified were Babesia equi 15 (50.00%), Babesia caballi 14 (46.7 %) and microfilariae 3 (10.0%). The prevalence of the parasites detected in the study were significantly different in sex and location (p>0.05).

Economic assessment of marketing and ethnoutilization Of <I>Irvingia wombulu(var. exelsa</I>) and <I>Irvingia</I> gabonensis (<I>var.gabonensis</I>) in Aniocha North and South local government areas of Delta State.

This study examined the marketing and ethno-utilization of Irvingia wombulu and Irvingia gabonensis in Aniocha North and Aniocha South Local Government Areas of Delta State. The data used were collected through the use of structured questionnaire administered to the Irvingia traders in selected markets in the study area. One hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were administered, but only one hundred and thirty-five (135) were found useable. The rest were discarded due to incomplete and mismatched information. Communities from which the markets were selected are Issele-Uku (30), Idumuje-Ugboko (20), Idumu-Ogo (15), Ogwashi-Uku (30), Ubulu-Okiti (15), and Otulu (25).Data collected included demographic characteristics of Irvingia sellers, selling price, cost price and transportation cost. The results reveal that 90.3% of the respondents could read and write. It was also discovered that 83% of the traders were Igbos while Non-Igbos accounted for 17%. The result also shows that 53.3% were married while 31.9% of the respondents were single. The major determinants of selling price of Irvingia kernels in the study area included cost price, and transportation cost because there was significant difference (P<0.05) in the coefficients of these determinants. It was also found that all the selected markets were efficient in performing the marketing functions, with the efficiency ranging from 1.23 to 1.63.

Development of semantic differential scale for measurement of students‟ interest in agricultural science

The study was designed to meet the need for a reliable and valid instrument for measurement of Senior School Students’ Interest in Agricultural Science. Using stratified random sampling, 13 (out of 45) Senior Schools were selected from Federal, Model and Public Senior Secondary Schools in Owerri and Ahiazu Local Government Areas of Imo State and Umuahia North and South Local Government Areas of Abia State. One stream of Senior School One (SS1) Students was selected in each of the 13 sampled schools. Thus, the sample comprised of 407 students made up of 132 males and 269 females. Development of the scales passed through six identifiable stages, namely: (1) Identification of salient individual dimensions of the concept, “Agricultural Science Interests” (2) Writing a pool of initial items, their face-validation and editing based on the results of trial-testing and comments from Test, Measurement and Evaluation Experts. (3) Preliminary trail-testing of the instrument. (4) Final administration of the instrument on the study sample (5) Estimation of psychometric properties of the Scale. (6) Provision of guidelines for effective utilization of the Agricultural Science Interest Scales. It was found (1) that all the 11 subscales in the instrument are appropriate for measurement of students’ interests in Agricultural. (2) that 10 out of 11bipolar adjectives in the initial scale which exhibited Discrimination Indices of 0.4 and above are the best for measurement of students’ interests in Agriculture. It was recommended that Teachers, Science Educators, Extension Agents, Guidance Counsellors and Researchers make effective use of the instrument for monitoring of young peoples’ interests in Agricultural Science as a valuable basis for planning intervention programmes that will bring about sustainable agricultural development in the Tropics. The use of this instrument, provided by this research, should be preferred to the usual subjective assessment of the affective domain outcomes in most Nigerian Schools.

Water Supply Deficiency and Implications for Rural Development in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria

There is a growing concern about the marginalization of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria in terms of infrastructural and social services provision. This study examined the water supply deficiency and its general implications for rural development within the region. Data and other study characteristics were extracted from 501 subjects drawn from 13 villages of Ngwa North and South Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Abia State. Data were analyzed using simple percentages and logistic regression models. Results showed that people living in the area experience acute water supply deficiency which has impacted negatively on their social, economic, and political lives.