Northeast Nigeria Research Articles

Economics of Plantain Production among Farmers in Northeast Nigeria

This study analysed the economics of plantain production in Northeast Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to; describe plantain farmers’ socio-economic characteristics in Northeast Nigeria; identify factors affecting plantain production in the study area, and also ascertain farmers’ resource use efficiency in plantain production. The study adopted a multi-stage sampling technique to collect primary data from 250 plantain farmers selected from 13 communities. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics and a stochastic frontier model were used. The finding of the study indicated that most (86.8%) of the respondents were male, having an average age of the respondents was 39.15 years, who are mostly educated (92.8%) and cultivate an average of 2.39 ha of land. The stochastic frontier production function maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters indicated that the production of plantain is determined by farm size, the number of suckers planted, the amount of hired labour used, and family labour. Similarly, the plantain production cost is being influenced by the cost of plantain suckers, labour, and the depreciated cost of land. Furthermore, the study revealed that the farmers were technically and allocatively efficient, although, the maximum technical efficiency was not achieved by farmers. Therefore, it was recommended that agricultural extension agents should be encouraged to reach plantain farmers with the required production technologies to promote production efficiency.

Examining the Effects of Internal Armed Conflict on the Nigerian Environment and the Response of Government

The incidences of armed conflicts in the North-East of Nigeria and the Niger Delta have left a lot of devastation on the environment and the livelihood of civilians. The paper notes that the Niger Delta conflict resulted in bombing of pipelines and oil facilities that led to discharges into freshwater sources and the farmlands causing a devastation to the environment and threatening human lives due to excessive amounts of toxic materials being discharged. Constant gas flaring affects wildlife and human life negatively. Badly constructed canals and causeways for the purpose of mining activities have adversely affected the hydrology of the region, causing floods in some areas and water scarcity in others. These artificial waterways allow saline water leakage into the sources of freshwater, resulting in scarcity of drinking water and the mortality of many aquatic plants and animals. When petroleum is discharged into the soil, the soil becomes acidic, which disrupts photosynthesis and respiration of tree roots. The paper, therefore, recommends that the government must address the root causes of conflict and undertake environmental clean-up seriously.

WIND ENERGY POTENTIAL IN YOBE, NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA: AN AIDED TECHNIQUE THROUGH GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM AND REMOTE SENSING

The role of wind energy and other renewable energy sources in combating climate change cannot be overemphasized. Many countries including Nigeria have so far implemented policy measures to promote renewable energy. Moreover, the most important step to be taken in order to effectively harness renewable energy is to estimate their potentials in terms of viability and sustainability. This study was focused on evaluate the wind energy potential zones in Yobe State, northeast Nigeria, using integrated multiple criteria decision-making analysis (MCDA), Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing (GIS-RS), and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. Weibull distribution statistical method was applied to validate the GIS-RS based analysis. The study revealed a wind speed variation ranged from 1.48 to 7.15 m/s and an average annual wind power density of about 80 W/m2. About 90 % of study area has about 90 % wind power density of about 85 W/m2 and below while the remaining 10 % is covered by wind power density ranged between 85 and 616.89 W/m2. The results of the study showed that the area is viable for wind power generation and distribution. Furthermore, the wind energy resource will yield favorable economic gain for the study area. Thus the study concluded that Yobe is a suitable area for wind power generation both at medium scale generation, and standalone connection system.

Operationalising effective coverage measurement of facility based childbirth in Gombe State; a comparison of data sources.

Estimating effective coverage of childbirth care requires linking population based data sources to health facility data. For effective coverage to gain widespread adoption there is a need to focus on the feasibility of constructing these measures using data typically available to decision makers in low resource settings. We estimated effective coverage of childbirth care in Gombe State, northeast Nigeria, using two different combinations of facility data sources and examined their strengths and limitations for decision makers. Effective coverage captures information on four steps: access, facility inputs, receipt of interventions and process quality. We linked data from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) to two sources of health facility data: (1) comprehensive health facility survey data generated by a research project; and (2) District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2). For each combination of data sources, we examined which steps were feasible to calculate, the size of the drop in coverage between steps and the resulting estimate of effective coverage. Analysis included 822 women with a recent live birth, 30% of whom attended a facility for childbirth. Effective coverage was low: 2% based on the project data and less than 1% using the DHIS2. Linking project data with NDHS, it was feasible to measure all four steps; using DHIS2 it was possible to estimate three steps: no data was available to measure process quality. The provision of high quality care is suboptimal in this high mortality setting where access and facility readiness to provide care, crucial foundations to the provision of high quality of care, have not yet been met. This study demonstrates that partial effective coverage measures can be constructed from routine data combined with nationally representative surveys. Advocacy to include process of care indicators in facility summary reports could optimise this data source for decision making.

Rhetorical Space and the Virality of the Bring Back Our Girls Campaign

On April 14th, 2014, at about 11:35pm, 276 girls were abducted by the insurgent group Boko Haram from their boarding house in Government Girls College, Chibok in Northeast Nigeria. Nigerians, joined by the rest of the world, began to demand that the Nigerian government rescue the abducted girls. This agitation birthed the tagline Bring Back Our Girls. What started as a simple hashtag on Twitter would later become a global campaign tagged Bring Back Our Girls. Rhetorical spaces—virtual, material, and agential— have contributed to the escalation, amplification, and sustenance of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign. In this paper, I argue that social campaigns connect disparate spaces, virtual, material, and agential to propel, amplify and sustain conversations about their causes. This paper looks at the different spaces that added and continue to add agency to the Bring Back Our Girls movement. I conceptualize rhetorical space by drawing upon divergent views from rhetorical scholars and social scientists. To answer the research question—how did rhetorical spaces lend credence to the virality and sustenance of the Bring Back Our Girls movement? — the paper looks at Twitter, the media, public personalities and groups, and offline demonstrations as virtual, material, and agential spaces. This paper concludes that the 'spaces' examined gave credence to the virality of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign by using platforms, positions, and features as social capital to influence the conversation about the campaign. Twitter has been the most fundamental agential and virtual space in the virality and sustenance of the campaign.

The Cost-Effectiveness of an Accelerated Learning Program on the Literacy, Numeracy and Social-Emotional Learning Outcomes of Out-of-School Children in Northeast Nigeria: Evidence from a Mixed Methods Randomized Controlled Trial

Nigeria is home to more out-of-school (OOS) children than any other country on Earth. More than 10.2 million children match that description throughout Nigeria, a conflict-affected country that grapples with long-standing challenges of entrenched poverty and weak governance. We used a randomized control trial (RCT) with 1,723 out of school children, ages 9–14 (850 treatment and 873 control), to determine the impact of an accelerated learning program (ALP) on the literacy, numeracy and social-emotional learning (SEL) outcomes of OOS children in Northeast Nigeria and gathered qualitative and costing data to determine stakeholder’s experiences with the program and the cost of implementation. Results show that at an average cost of £66 (2018 GBP) per child for 7 months of service, the program had positive, small to medium, and statistically significant effects on children’s literacy and numeracy skills, but no effects on SEL outcomes. We include subgroup analysis to identify baseline equity gaps and the differential impact of the intervention by gender, displacement status and mother tongue language. We discuss limitations and policy and practices implications of these findings.

Research in Retrospect: The Animal Bones from Daima, Northeast Nigeria

Abstract This brief report describes the animal bones from the first millennium BC discovered during Graham Connah’s excavations at Daima Mound in northeastern Nigeria in 1965–66. The faunal research was completed by the author in 1973, but, owing to various circumstances, it has not been possible to publish the report until now. Eighty percent of the 657 positively identified bones come from domestic cattle, probably a small-statured breed. They were mostly slaughtered while young adults, which suggests they were surplus males. Small stock, probably goats, and also hunting were less important. The inhabitants consumed shallow water fish, mainly Clariidae (catfish), easily trapped in shallow pools. The small Daima collection confirms faunal data from other Lake Chad sites, which show that cattle herding was an important activity during the first millennium BC.

HEAT WAVE AND ITS IMPACT IN NORTHEASTERN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF YOBE STATE, NIGERIA

Heatwaves are significant natural disaster that is caused primarily by extreme temperatures. The extreme heat events associated with heatwaves often cause severe health complications and deaths. In view of the environmental hazards associated with heatwaves, this study investigated the impact of heatwaves in Yobe State, northeast Nigeria. Temperature and humidity data of thirty years (1991-2020) for the hot season (March-June), were obtained from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) Abuja. Time series analysis and basic statistical tools were used to analysis the data which was used to evaluate the trend of heatwaves and their impact in the study area. The results of the study showed that 2010 was extremely hot with an average maximum temperature anomaly of 2.18, while 2013 and 2015 have an average maximum temperature anomaly of 1.93 respectively, and were very hot. The trend in the average maximum temperature anomaly of the study area showed a continuous increase in extreme heat for about a decade (2009-2020). The positive temperature trend and the average maximum temperature anomaly showed that the intensity of heatwaves in the study area will increase in the future as a result of global warming caused by the continuous emission of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. The results also showed that the heatwaves were exacerbated by the drought which occurred between 2010 and 2014. The annual heat index which range from 29.4oC - 34oC in the study area showed that the heatwaves have impacted both human and animals negatively in the area.

Assessment Of Job Satisfaction Among Doctors And Nurses Of Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Northeast Nigeria

Background:Job satisfaction refers to how people feel about their jobs and the different aspects of their jobs. Job satisfaction has been associated with benefits that range from giving an employee the motivation to work, improving the performance of employees, efficiency, commitment, and reduction of burnout level. Job satisfaction is an important determinant of productivity and effective service delivery in the workplace. Objective:To assess the level of job satisfaction, factors associated with it and the difference in job satisfaction between doctors and nurses in Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Nigeria Methodology: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out among doctors and nurses of the federal teaching hospital Gombe. A Cluster sampling technique was implored to select the study participants. Data was collected using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into two sections; socio-demographic data and evaluation of job satisfaction which has five domains (general satisfaction, opportunity to develop and responsibility, patient care, time pressure, and staff relation). Results were presented in the form of tables, and charts and described using mean and standard deviation. The analysis was carried out using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) program. The level of job satisfaction was measured on a five-point Likert scale. The association between the independent variable with overall job satisfaction was then determined using the chi-square test, taking p-value <0.05 to be statistically significant. Results: The mean age, length of service, and working hours were found to be 35.6±8.7 years, 8.2±5.9 years, and 8.5±1.9 hours respectively. Only 37.1% of the respondents were nurses, and 62.9% of the respondents were doctors. The study showed that the overall job satisfaction of respondents was 90.0%, of which 82.7% of respondents were satisfied with the general aspect of their job. The study also found that job satisfaction amongst nurses and doctors was associated with younger age and shorter working hours per day with p values of <0.001 and 0.002 respectively. Conclusion: Job satisfaction among the doctors and nurses in this study is high. The younger staff and those working shorter hours daily are more satisfied with their jobs. We recommend that the daily working hours should also be reviewed and those working longer hours be compensated for the additional hours done daily

Prevalence and Clinical Presentation of Group A Streptococcal Pharyngitis in Children at a Tertiary Hospital in Gombe, North-East Nigeria

Background: Globally, Group A ß-Haemolytic Streptococcus (GAßHS) pharyngitis and its complications are major contributors to childhood morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. The diagnosis and treatment of GAßHS pharyngitis in these countries is often empirical resulting in frequent misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Determining the local prevalence and clinical presentations of GAßHS pharyngitis will be essential for making informed clinical decision. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and clinical presentations of GAßHS among children with pharyngitis at a tertiary hospital in Gombe, North-eastern Nigeria. Methods: 324 children aged 3-18 years were consecutively recruited at the out-patient clinic between 1st April 2018 to 30th September 2018. Socio-demographic and clinical features were recorded and throat swab samples were cultured on 5% sheep blood agar to diagnose GAßHS.Result: The prevalence of GAßHS pharyngitis was 25.9% and was significantly higher; in females (67.1%) (p=0.046), in children aged 11-14 years (32.1%) (p= 0.008) and during peak rainfall (p=0.001). The clinical features significantly associated with GAßHS pharyngitis were; runny nose (p<0.001), cough (p<0.001) and sorethroat (p<0.001), fever (p<0.001), palatal petechiae (p<0.001), pharyngeal erythema and exudates (p=0.001), tonsillar enlargement and exudates (p<0.001), cervical lymph node tenderness (p=0.010), halitosis (p=0.029), and scarlet rash (p=0.001). Conclusion: GAßHS pharyngitis is prevalent in children especially during peak of rainfall and some clinical features are commoner among patients with GAßHS pharyngitis. These clinical symptoms and signs can be used to guide empiric treatment decision.

World without a Word: Reading Silence in Selected Recent Nigerian Poetry

Trauma is not a recent motif in Nigerian literature. Literary critics have copiously investigated into the trauma of Nigerian Civil War. However, the Boko Haram insurgency, which has ravaged many communities majorly in the North-East of Nigeria, has introduced a new dimension of exploring trauma into Nigerian literature. The literary dimension is patterned around what, in a broad term, may be called ‘trauma of Boko Haram’. The inability of traumatized Nigerian female victims of the Boko Haram insurgency to unequivocally express the extent of atrocities perpetrated against them by those who should ordinarily be their saviours, confidants or helpers (after the attack) is the main focus of this study. Trauma theory was used to analyse the selected poems taken from a book edited by Ojaide et al. (2019), The Markas: An Anthology of Literary Works on Boko Haram. It was established, on the one hand, that these ‘doubly’ traumatised women are forced to subsist merely in a world of silence – the sole response to the second phase of trauma – by these ‘traumatising tools’. On the other hand, the women’s silence is sustained or prolonged by the subconscious awareness of loss of hopes of recovery. It can be concluded, then, that all the ‘artificial situations or measures’ created to silence the crying voice of the female victims of the Boko Haram insurgency accordingly aggravate their traumatic memory.

Pictorial Portrayal of the Humanitarian Crises in North East Nigeria by Daily Trust and Thisday Newspapers

The humanitarian crises in north east Nigeria has gained prominence across the globe and the media are awashed with disturbing reports, particularly on the activities of Boko Haram. Therefore, this research examines pictorial portrayal of humanitarian crisis in north east Nigeria by Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers. The objectives of the study are to identify issues of humanitarian crises, portrayed in the Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers; identify types of pictures newspapers used in portraying humanitarian crises in Northeast Nigeria; examine the ways Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers used photographs to portray humanitarian crises in North East Nigeria; examine the kind of pictorial frames used by Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers in the coverage of the humanitarian issues in north east. Findings of the study revealed that although various pictures were used by diverse media reports, both Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers were able to present different angles to the story namely (mild, resolved, commodification) but predominantly focused on the grievous, dehumanized and physically traumatized angle to the story thereby showcasing more of a situation that is yet to be resolved. The study concludes that Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers pictorially portrayed the crises as grievous, dehumanizing and physically traumatizing thus downplaying the mild perspective of the situation in pictures.

Strange Bedfellows: Relations between International Nongovernmental Organisations and Military Actors in Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism in Northeast Nigeria

Previous studies have examined the impact of the relationship between international nongovernmental organisations and the military on peacekeeping operations and humanitarian programming. However, how relations between international nongovernmental organisations and military actors affect preventing/countering of violent extremism has not been central to existing debates. By using the qualitative-dominant mixed methods approach, this paper investigates relations between these actors in Northeast Nigeria and argues that the dynamic interactions between international nongovernmental organisations and the military largely breed mistrust and conflict between them. This undermines the capacity of international nongovernmental organisations to prevent/counter violent extremism. The paper concludes that mutual respect for the operational procedures of the military and international nongovernmental organisations in the Northeast is relevant for an enhanced relationship between them and sustainable preventing/countering violent extremism programming in Nigeria and beyond.

Effect of Interactive Computer Software Package on Keyboarding Students Academic Achievement Between Gender in Federal Colleges of Education in North East Nigeria

The study investigates the effect of interactive computer software package on keyboarding students’ academic achievement among gender in Federal Colleges of Education in North-East Nigeria. The study had two objectives, two research questions and two null hypotheses. The pretest posttest comparison group design was used. The population of the study was 1748 students that offered keyboarding in two of the Federal Colleges of Education in North-east Nigeria in 2019/2020 academic session. Two intact classes of 43 male, 30 female making 176 students and 62 male, 103 female students were used for the study respectively. The instrument used for data collection were keyboarding pre-diagnostic achievement test (KPAT) and keyboarding diagnostic achievement test (KDAT) was designed by the researcher and validated by three experts. The data obtained from pilot study were subjected to statistical analysis using Cronbach Alpha. The instrument had Reliability Coefficient of 0.85 while that of posttest was 0.89. The KDAT were administered to student before the treatment while KDAP were administered after the treatment. Data collected from the two instruments were marked by the researcher using drawn marking scheme. The results of the data were coded in to Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25. The SPSS was used analyze Descriptive statistics of Mean, Standard Deviation and t-test, Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research question while t-test was employed in testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed among others that those taught using conventional method perform woefully in both gender. Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that the use of interactive computer software package would help both male and female students to have proficiency in mastering the keyboard which will facilitate their typing skills. It was recommended among others that school should charge all the keyboarding lecturers to use computer software package in teaching the students irrespective of gender.

User Information Needs and Reference Services Satisfaction at Selected Federal Universities Libraries in North-Eastern Nigeria

One of the most important criteria for assessing a library is the level of satisfaction its users express with the service they get. The extent to which the library is able to anticipate user needs and integrate such predictions into collection development is a crucial aspect in influencing the level of satisfaction users have with the library's service. As a general concept, "user satisfaction" refers to how satisfied users are with a service or product they have used; as a more specific term, "library user satisfaction," it is used to describe how happy library patrons are with the library's collection and services. The study used a descriptive survey technique with a sample size of 288 postgraduate students randomly selected from four different Federal Universities in Northeast Nigeria. The data was collected by closed-ended questionnaire, and the resulting psychometrics include a CRV=1 and r-coefficient of 0.83. Frequency counts and percentages, together with chi-square tests at the 0.05 significance level, were used to examine the data. The study established that graduate students asked reference librarians for the same types of information but were dissatisfied with the level of service they received from librarians at their respective institutions. The results reveal a linear correlation between all the factors; therefore, it stands to reason that the chosen universities have the same information needs and levels of user satisfaction.

Assessing Determinants of Lecturers’ Utilization and Attitude Towards Open Educational Resources in Universities of North-East, Nigeria

The study assessed the Determinants of Lecturers’ Utilization and Attitude Towards Open Educational Resources (OER) for Knowledge Sharing in Universities of North-East Nigeria. The population of the study was 632 lecturers drawn from Federal Universities of Northeast Nigeria. The sample of the study comprised of 338 lecturers purposively selected from three Federal Universities distributed within the three states (Adamawa, Bauchi and Borno State). The study adopted concurrent embedded mixed method research design in which four Quantitative and one qualitative (QUAN + qual) research questions guided the study. The instruments used for data collection are closed ended questionnaire and focus group interview protocol. The instruments were validated by experts and subjected to reliability test using Cronbach’s alpha. Mean (x) and standard deviation (SD) was used to answer research question one to four for quantitative variables. Thematic analysis was used to answer research question five for qualitative variables using Atlas ti. Version 9.1. The findings of the study revealed that Performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions variables collectively influence lecturers’ use of shared OER. The study recommended among others that the University management should build on the provisions of the construct by strengthening the culture of knowledge sharing on OER repository among faculties.

Perceived Challenges of Start Up of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Among Business Education Graduates in Federal Colleges of Education in North-East, Nigeria

The aim of the study was to determine the Perceived Challenges of Start-up of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) among Business Education graduates in Federal Colleges of Education in North-East Nigeria. The study was guided by the following research questions: To what extent does Startup capital constitute a challenge in setting up of Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) among business education students in Federal Colleges of Education in North-east, Nigeria? To what extent does Inadequate Entrepreneurial Skills constitute a challenge in startup of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) among Business Education graduates in Federal Colleges of Education in North-east Nigeria? The design of the study was descriptive survey. The area of the study was North-east, Nigeria; population of the study comprises 639 final year Business Education graduates of Federal Colleges of Education who are trained in Entrepreneurship Education as a course, stratified proportionate random sampling technique was used. The instrument for data collection in the study was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by two experts from the Department of Vocational and Technology Education, Faculty of Technology Education, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained which indicates that the instrument was highly reliable. The researchers used a research assistant for administering of the questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software, version 23. The result of the study revealed that graduates of Federal colleges of education were faced with the challenges of start-up capital in setting up of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs), also the study revealed that there are inadequate Entrepreneurial skills training in setting up of SMEs among Business Education graduates. Based on the findings it was recommended that Government should increase support given to federal colleges of education in order to boost training of entrepreneurial skills and to provide financial support to students of Business Education to start-up SMEs after graduation.

Attitude of Science and Technology Education Lecturers and Students Towards Using Metacognitive Strategies in Colleges of Education in North-East Nigeria

The study investigated the attitude of lecturers and students of Science Technology Education and Mathematics (STEM) towards metacognitive learning strategies in Colleges of Education in North-East Zone of Nigeria. One purpose was identified, one research question answered and one null hypothesis tested. The study employed descriptive survey research design in which a 16-item instrument, designed by the researchers, was used in collecting data from a sample of 138 respondents were randomly selected, made up of 56 lecturers and 82 students, drawn from 10 Colleges of Education in the North-East Zone. The instrument was validated by two experts in Science Education, drawn from Department of Education, University of Maiduguri. The validated copy was pilot tested on 25 students and 10 lecturers of Science Education programme from Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kano, an institution outside the study area. Test re-test method was used to obtain the reliability of the instrument, using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) which stood at 0.87. Mean and standard deviation were used in analyzing and answering the research question. The null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance using the z-test. The study found that students of Science Technology Education and Mathematics (STEM)in Colleges of Education in the North-East Zone of Nigeria had a positive attitude towards metacognitive learning strategies. The study also found that there was no significant difference between the mean scores of the responses of lecturers and students on the students’ attitude towards metacognitive learning strategies in Colleges of Education in North-East Zone of Nigeria. It recommended among others, that Students of STEM in Colleges of Education in North-East Zone should continuously develop positive attitude towards metacognitive learning strategies which have the tendency to improve their performances, and methods should be put in place by lecturers and management of the Colleges of Education to design programmes, activities and schedules which are able to arouse students’ interest in metacognition and as well sustain such interest.

Teachers’ Pedagogical Competence as a Determinant of Students’ Motivation Towards Business Education in Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe in North-East Nigeria

The aim of this study was to determine teachers’ pedagogical competence as a determinant of students’ motivation towards business education, the study adopted qualitative research and the design used for the study was instrumental case study. The participants were final year undergraduate business education students. The sampling technique used was purposeful sampling in selecting six (6) participants, three from the students and three from the academic staff. The researcher with the help of one (1) research assistant conducted face to face interview using semi structured interview protocol, with few open-ended questions. Data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis for interview. The results revealed that teacher’ pedagogical competences as a determinant of students’ motivation towards business education required possession of knowledge of the subject matter, use of appropriate teaching methods and using of instructional materials in teaching and learning process. The results also revealed that teachers’ pedagogical competence as a determinant of students’ motivation towards business education required teacher-student positive relationship, use of positive reinforcement and incentives, and teacher personality to motivate students towards business education. Based on the findings, it was recommended that Government, National Commission for Colleges of education, and other stakeholders should consider professional teaching qualification as pre-requisite for the recruitment of teachers and to provide in-service training, seminars, and conferences, workshops for the teachers, to improve in student-teacher relationship, and use of positive reinforcement/incentives in order to motivate students toward business education.

Polycerate sheep in Nigeria

A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out on indigenous flocks of sheep around Maiduguri Metropolis and Jere of Borno State, North-East Nigeria from September, 2016 to March, 2017 to evaluate the frequency and odds of occurrence of Polycerate sheep in Northern Nigeria. Gross examination of a total of 25, 989 sheep of different breeds, age, weight and of either sex was implored. A frequency of occurrence was rated at 0.023 with an odd of occurrence of 1:4330.5 was observed. A total of 4 Polycerate sheep were Ouda breeds and 2 Polycerates were Yankasa breeds while scurs were found mostly on the Balami breed. Findings from the study shows the existence of indigenous viable and productive breeds of sheep with 3, 4, 5 and more horns in the region. Craniographs shows multiple horns originates from the same horn base on the skull on each side and there is evidence of a hard bony core. Campaigns to create awareness on the importance to science and rites, preservation, protection and genetic sequencing of indigenous polycerates as it compares to other polycerates of the world should be organized in the region.