Nigeria Society Research Articles

Value Deficiency, Employment Generation and Crime among Youths in Nigeria: An Overview

Value deficiency and crime among the youths reflects the plethora of contemporary societal challenges that appear to inhibit social progress and national development. This paper therefore discusses value deficiency, employment generation and crime among youths in Nigeria. It examines the relationship between value deficiency and crime among youths in Nigeria despite several government efforts at employment generation. This paper argues that, although employment is a critical requirement for youths to realize their potentialities and release their contributory efforts to national development, the burden of value deficiency appears to vitiate such efforts and propel youth towards increasing crime. The paper identifies factors such as degradation and relegation of values as the causes of value deficiency in the Nigeria society. This paper adopted the Social Impact Theory [1] to emphasize its points. Secondary data collected from previous researches and analysis of scholars to demonstrate the facts stated here were analyzed using the descriptive method. The study finds that value deficiency increases the incidence of crime among youths and vitiates the efforts at employment generation in Nigeria. It recommends among others that youth development strategies must necessarily include value re-orientation and further re-orientation programmes and this requires the active support of the family, the community and the government.

Comparison of pharmacists’ mental health literacy: Developed versus developing countries

ObjectiveTo compare the mental health literacy (MHL) of pharmacists in Nigeria and their comfort rendering pharmacy services to patients with mental illness with that of pharmacists in developed countries. DesignA cross-sectional study design was employed. Questionnaires containing closed, ordinal, Likert-type, and multi-choice questions were used to elicit information from the respondents. Setting and participantsPharmacists from all areas of practice attending the 91st Annual Conference of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria from October 29 to November 3, 2018, were conveniently sampled. Outcome measuresPharmacists’ MHL, stigma, desired social distance, and comfort rendering pharmacy services were compared with relevant literature from developed countries. ResultsOf the approximately 360 pharmacists who received the survey, 117 responded (32.5%). Although less than half (45.3%, n = 48) of the pharmacists reported that antidepressants were beneficial in treating depressive symptoms, almost all of them (96.2%, n = 102) rated antipsychotics to be helpful for schizophrenia. The desired social distance was higher in schizophrenia than in depression (P = 0.001). More than half (57.1%, n = 61) of the pharmacists surveyed believed that violence was more likely among persons with a mental illness. The respondents reported a higher level of comfort giving medication advice to patients with cardiovascular disease than to those with mental illness (P < 0.001). Approximately one-third (34.0%, n = 36) of the pharmacists agreed that they had sufficient training in the identification and management of mental illness. Literature from developed countries showed high levels of MHL among pharmacists in terms of knowledge but relatively high levels of stigma, desired social distance, and discomfort rendering pharmaceutical care to patients with mental illness. ConclusionThe findings indicate some knowledge gaps and misconceptions among Nigerian pharmacists regarding mental illness. The stigma and desired social distance among pharmacists in this study were comparable to findings from developed countries.

THE HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF CONTEMPORARY ULAMA BASED ON SECTS: IN PROMOTING ISLAMIC SOCIETY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

Islam clearly referred to the word of peace justice and equity where the Islam considered every individual as equal in the sight of Allah, and also indicates the must closer in the sight of Him is the most fairness person. However, Allah (SWT) kept sending a messenger from time to time from their kind, to serve as messenger and prophet for conveying the divine messages for guidance. The last and final Message and Messenger, that is the Qur’an and Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), the son of Abdullah. Therefore, since there would never be any other messenger, the responsibly for carrying on with that onerous divine duties are vested on the most learned of their times, the Ulama’ in setting out an all-encompassing teaching and regulatory framework for achieving optimum relationship between man and his Creator, the entire environment of the Universe and all other creations therein. For this reason, the Ulama been considered at the honorable status of the inheritors of the Messenger of Allah SWT. The paper investigates the enormous contributions of Ulama’ and identifies the serious challenges facing the Islam and its society of Northern Nigeria based on varies of understanding mainly arising from the ideological teachings of the overzealous few and sects in disregarding the provisions of the Qur’an and Sunnah such as (Tariqa, Izala, and Salaf) which is considered the main problems of sectarianism, extremism, and disunity, in some cases in Northern Nigeria. The paper employed the comparison method, to analyze the theoretical discussion of the sects. The findings indicate that there is a need to screen the Ulama’ of all groups, in establishing a common structure that shall not only unite but will address the yearnings and aspirations of the Ummah and Islam in Northern Nigeria.

Crossing borders: the case of NASFAT or ‘Pentecostal Islam’ in Southwest Nigeria

The Pentecostal movement in Nigeria, with its emphasis on this‐worldly blessings and healing, has become so vibrant that today even Muslim organisations appear to be increasingly ‘Pentecostalised’. Nasrul‐Lahi‐il Fathi Society of Nigeria or NASFAT is a case in point. In an effort to compete with Pentecostalism on Yorubaland‘s religious marketplace, NASFAT has copied Pentecostal prayer forms, such as the crusade and night vigil, while emphasising Muslim doctrine. As such, the case of NASFAT illustrates that religious borrowing does not imply that religious boundaries do not matter: indeed, NASFAT is a powerful example of the preservation of religious differences through the appropriation of Pentecostal styles and strategies. In this spirit, religiously plural movements such as NASFAT prompt us to unlock analytical space in the nearly hermetically sealed anthropologies of Islam and Christianity and to develop a comparative framework that overcomes essentialist notions of religious diversity.

Sickle cell disease clinical phenotypes in Nigeria: A preliminary analysis of the Sickle Pan Africa Research Consortium Nigeria database

Background/objectiveSickle cell disease (SCD) is a monogenic disease with multiple phenotypic expressions. Previous studies describing SCD clinical phenotypes in Nigeria were localized, with limited data, hence the need to understand how SCD varies across Nigeria. MethodThe Sickle Pan African Research Consortium (SPARCO) with a hub in Tanzania and collaborative sites in Tanzania, Ghana and Nigeria, is establishing a single patient-consented electronic database with a target of 13,000 SCD patients. In collaboration with the Sickle Cell Support Society of Nigeria, 20 hospitals, with paediatric and adult SCD clinics, are participating in patient recruitment. Demographic and clinical information, collected with uniform case report forms, were entered into Excel spreadsheets and uploaded into Research Electronic Data Capture software by trained data clerks and frequency tables generated. ResultData were available on 3622 patients enrolled in the database, comprising 1889 (52.9%) females and 1434 (39.6%) children ≤15 years. The frequencies of Hb SS, Hb SC and Hb Sβ thalassemia in this data set were 97.5%, 2.5% and 0% respectively. Sixty percent, 23.8%, 5.9%, 4.8% and 2.5% have had bone pain crisis, dactylitis, acute chest syndrome, priapism and stroke respectively. The most frequent chronic complications were: leg ulcers (6.5%), avascular necrosis of bone (6.0%), renal (6.3%) and pulmonary hypertension (1.1%). Only 13.2% had been hospitalized while 67.5% had received blood transfusion. ConclusionThese data on the spectrum of clinical phenotypes of SCD are useful for planning, improving the management of SCD across Nigeria and provide a foundation for genomic research on SCD.

Determining the anatomy of anatomy educators.

ObjectiveThe growing shortage of anatomy educators along with inconsistencies regarding their educational qualifications has become a major global concern for medical education. The purpose of this study is to assess the dynamics of anatomy educators in Nigeria with respect to their general characteristics, qualifications, teaching experience, and research focus.MethodsThis study was conducted on the participants of the 16th Annual Conference of the Anatomical Society of Nigeria held at the University of Calabar, Nigeria in 2019. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire and analysed as frequencies and percentages using Microsoft Excel.ResultsOut of 84 faculty members, 56 (72.4%) participated in this study; 68% of the participants were men and 32% were women. A maximum of 27 faculty members belonged to the ‘31–40 years old’ age group while only 5 belonged to the ‘51–60 years old’ group. Twenty-five (45%) faculty members had a Ph.D. in Anatomy and all the non-Ph.D. holders (97%), except for one, aspired for a higher degree in Anatomy. The research interest with the highest frequency (n = 29; 52%) was in neuroanatomy and neurosciences. Over half of the respondents (n = 31; 55%) worked in federal universities, 16 (29%) in state universities, 4 (7%) in private universities, and only 5 (9%) were employed in allied institutions.ConclusionAnatomy professionals in Nigeria are mostly middle-aged and mid-career individuals. Most of them have master’s degrees while only a few hold PhDs and have little to no postdoctoral experience. The research focus was concentrated on some areas of anatomy. This study reveals the urgent need to address the training and research gaps in the field of anatomy.

The History of Modern Ophthalmology in Nigeria: A Synopsis of Institutions, Events and Personalities

Ophthalmology in Nigeria has developed over the decades with contributions from several personalities. Many events and institutions have served to shape the emergence of good care, from the establishment of ECWA Eye hospital in 1943 as one of the premiere indigenous dedicated Eye Hospitals, to the establishment of the National Eye Centre as well as the University College Hospital Ophthalmology department, the specialty of Ophthalmology has grown to enviable heights. The formation of the Ophthalmological Society of Nigeria in 1969 and the establishment of the National Postgraduate College and The West African College of Surgeons equally stand out as landmark events in History.&#x0D; The Nigerian National Survey of Blindness and Visual Impairment (2005 to 2007) was the biggest ever survey in Africa, no national level estimates existed in Nigeria before the survey. This gigantic task took more than three years to complete including 30 months of rigorous fieldwork and was only possible because of the special efforts of key individuals. The MTN EYE FOUNDATION Eyeris Program (2013 - 2017) also stands out as a landmark surgical intervention scheme involving 12 states in all geopolitical zones in Nigeria. A total of 18,438 free cataract surgeries were performed, 23,528 eyeglasses and 23,226 ocular medications for ocular allergies, glaucoma and ocular infections were also given free to beneficiaries.

Name as a designate of culture in traditional and contemporary Yorùbá society of Nigeria

Names are cultural indicators used to identify or designate a person or an object. There is an abundance of literature on the naming culture of the Yorùbá society. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these works have adequately provided a functionalistic approach to naming among the Yorùbá. This article assesses the sociocultural functions and cultural implications of Yorùbá names in traditional and contemporary Yorùbá society. Employing the functionalist theory, the article argues that traditionally each Yorùbá name serves a specific sociocultural function. However, owing to the current encroachment of modernisation on the contemporary Yorùbá society, the values in the names are fast eroding. In the light of this, the article emphasises the need for Yorùbá people to take a restoration stride to the point of origin where the originality and the true essence of Yorùbá names lie.

The Rising Effect of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in Nigeria

Alcohol consumption is deep rooted among different ethnic groups in Nigeria. alcohol plays a very important role in the socio-economic, social political, and socio-cultural relationships among countries. Alcohol is seen as a means of refreshment and is used during marriage ceremonies, burials, Chieftaincy enthronement etc. the pattern of alcohol consumption in the contemporary Nigeria Society is changing, as its consumption which has now being accompanied with substance abuse in Nigeria, has had Negative Effects in the Nigeria Society. This paper attempts to portray the rising effect of Alcohol and substance abuse in Nigeria with the intention of bringing to limelight, the adverse effect of alcohol and substance abuse to the socio-economical, socio-cultural and social political structure of not just the Nigerian society, but the individual as a whole to discover the extent to which drug abuse has influence the youth and to make recommendations on what should be done.

Impact of Covid-19 on Society, Economics and Education of Nigeria

Impact of Covid-19 on Society, Economics and Education of Nigeria

"A Good Name Is Better than Wealth" in Proverbs 22:1 vis-à-vis the Related Igbo Maxim "Ezi Afa Ka Ego" (Integrity Surpasses Wealth)

ABSTRACT This article studies Proverbs 22:1 in relation to the Igbo maxim, 'Ezi afa ka ego' (Integrity surpasses wealth). The poet of Proverbs 22:1 claims that integrity surpasses wealth and then admonishes people to embrace virtues and shun vices. It is sad to observe that in the Igbo society of Nigeria, some citizens presently engage in ritual killings, human trafficking, prostitution and other vices in the quest to acquire wealth. Against this backdrop, this essay analysed Proverbs 22:1 vis-a-vis the Igbo proverb, ' Ezi afa ka ego.' The methodology adopted by the researchers is literary analysis, which is a synchronic approach that studies a biblical text as it appears in its final shape. The researchers employed a random sampling technique to interview seven knowledgeable Igbo people orally to examine the meaning of 'Ezi afa ka ego' in the Igbo context. The study affirmed that modernism has negatively affected the Igbo's cherished value of integrity. This study charges those that engage in iniquity in order to acquire wealth to eschew such practices because a good name surpasses wealth. Keywords: Proverbs 22:1, Good name, Integrity, Ezi afa ka ego, Igbo aphorism

The Tragedy of The Girl-Child: A Feminist Reading of Ngozi Omeje’s The Conquered Maiden and Amma Darko’s Faceless

Author(s): Ajidahun, Clement Olujide | Abstract: This paper is a critical interrogation of Ngozi Omeje’s The Conquered Maiden and Amma Darko’s Faceless from the feminist ideological perspective. While Ngozi Omeje looks at the place of the girl-child from the Igbo’s cultural world view using the platform of the theater, Amma Darko explores the predicament and the subjugation of the girl-child from the Ghanaian socio-cultural perspective using the novel as her medium. This paper examines the predicaments and the socio-cultural prejudice against the girl-child in the patriarchal society of Nigeria and in matriarchal Ghanaian society. The theoretical framework of the paper is based on the feminist sociological theory that re-examines and compares the treatment of women vis-a-vis men in society. This theory also evaluates issues of bias, prejudice and discrimination against women, and by implication the girl-child, to determine whether or not women have been fairly or justly treated in society. This paper establishes, based on visual and non-visual signifiers in the texts, that the girl-child is a victim of discrimination in both Nigerian and Ghanaian societies. Both texts confirm the hostility of society towards the girl-child, and its preference for the men who are seen to be more reliable and dependable, and who are believed to be the carriers and preservers of the seed of progeny. This paper analyzes the writers’ condemnation of these prejudicial, discriminatory and hostile behavioral attitudes against the girl-child. Both texts are thus interpreted as a biting satire against gender discrimination in African societies.

Factors Influencing the Use of Outcome Measures for Patients with Low Back Pain: A Survey of Nigerian Physiotherapists

Background: Low back pain is one of the important patients’ presenting complain that requires expert management from the physiotherapists. Yet no work was available for reference on the use of outcome measures for its evaluation by Nigeria physiotherapists. Objective: This study, therefore, investigated the outcome measures used by Nigerian physiotherapists to evaluate patients with Low Back Pain and the factors that influenced their use. Methods: A survey questionnaire was posted to 306 randomly selected mem- bers of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy (NSP). Data were analyzed using frequency, percentages, mean, ANOVA, and Pearson’s Chi-square. P-value was placed at 0.05. Results: 52.9% of the respondents (221) used a pain visual analog scale. Only 36.1% used LBP-specific clinical outcome measures. The factors that influenced their use were belief, attitude, knowledge, and choice. There was no significant difference between the majority of the factors and the use of clinical outcome measures. The P-values were 0.960, 0.648, 0.760 for belief, attitude and knowledge respectively. The only factor that had a significant difference (P = 0.029) with the use of clinical outcome measures was choice. Gender and postgraduate qualification had no significant influ- ence on the use of clinical outcome measures at the P-value of 0.117 and 0.510 respectively. Conclusion: Pain visual analog scale is the outcome measure frequently used by Nigeria Physiotherapists to evaluate patients with Low Back Pain. Belief, attitude, knowledge, and choice are the factors that influ- enced the use. There is a need to incorporate the use of LBP-specific outcome measures by Nigerian physiotherapists while treating patients with LBP.

Domestic Violence among Couples in Yoruba Society of Nigeria and Its Moral Concern for Church

Domestic Violence among Couples in Yoruba Society of Nigeria and Its Moral Concern for Church

Internet and Social Media use among Pharmacists in a state in Nigeria

Objectives: This study determined the use of internet and social media by pharmacists in Delta State as well as their experiences with the internet and patients.&#x0D; Method: This was achieved through the use of a 32 item, structured questionnaire, pretested and administered to 100 pharmacists attending the quarterly meeting of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria in Abraka, Delta State. Use of internet and social media were evaluated by Chi square analysis, using SPSS 20. At 95% confidence interval, a 2-tailed, P- value less than 0.05 was considered significant.&#x0D; Results: Of 100 questionnaires administered, 81 were returned, giving a response rate of 81%. Majorities (29.6%) were aged 30-39 years, there were more males (54.3%) than females, one third (39.5%) had been in practice for 1-10 years. Nearly half (48.1%) were in community practice, more than half (56.8%) were practicing in Asaba. Majority (61.7%) used electronic communication for professional services; a quarter (27.2%) used email to communicate with their patients. Whatsapp was 3.5%, text messaging and Face book were 1.2% each. Significant differences were found in their online activities. Reasons for not communicating online included respondents not being computer literate (9.9%), irregular power supply in location (9.9%), lack of time (2.5%).&#x0D; Conclusion: Internet use among respondents in the study area was poor, with those practicing in urban capital using the internet most. There is need to encourage greater internet use among pharmacists because of the obvious benefits to patient care.&#x0D; Keywords: Internet use, pharmacists, social media

Assessment of Procurement Plan in the Nigeria Construction Industry: A Case of Selected Firms in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The Procurement plan and procedure in Nigeria have gone through a number of changes, with main objective of reducing or at best eliminating corruption in public procurement, realizing values for money, efficiency in procurement process among others. The data of assessment of procurement plan in the Nigerian construction industry was collected through administrating questionnaire to selected members of the companies and was analyzed using three statistical tools, namely; percentage analysis, chi-square and measures of dispersion. The table from which was drawn the analysis of assessment of procurement plan in the Nigeria construction industry reveal that among the professionals who responded to the questionnaire 27.6% are members of the Nigeria Institute of Quality Surveyors (NIQS) , 13.2% belong to the Nigeria Institute of Architects (NIA), and 22.4% belong to the Nigeria institute of Builders (NIOB), while 3.9% are members of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), those who belong to other professional body other than the those above are 9.2% and 23.7% are not registered with any professional body. From the chi-square test of independence, it was found that at 5% level of significance opinion of respondents is not independent of their professional background. The Likert summary table also show reveal the following (i) procurement system affect project cost (ii) procurement system affect quality of work (iii) procurement plans affect design team performance. Also, the statements with low variance and standard deviation are more reliable than those with high variance and standard deviation. Therefore, on commencement of construction projects consultant must advise their clients on the building procurement system available.

Effects of seed bed types and weed control methods on the vegetative parameters of long cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutesens L)

Effects of seed bed types and weed control methods on the vegetative parameters of long cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutesens L)

The Emergence of The Autonomous Individual

This research article titled “The Emergence of the Autonomous Individual “explores the early fiction of Ayn Rand and Chinua Achebe and proceeds with the assumption that the autonomous individual is seen emerging in Ayn Rand‟s We the Living (1936) and Anthem (1938) and in Chinua Achebe‟s Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow of God (1964) respectively. In the fiction of Ayn Rand, the researcher explores the nature of the individual from the socio-political context. Rand‟s Anthem follows We the Living chronologically, and is set in Communist Russia and trigger off the rise of the individual. Though Chinua Achebe‟s Arrow of God does not follow Things Fall Apart chronologically, these two novels are set in the Ibo tradition and spark off the beginnings of the quest for the individual. Both Rand and Achebe have been brought together for this study as each author supports to a very large extent, the opposite poles of the hypothesis which, is: Whether the sphere of moral and imaginative values by which an individual functions in society is at once autonomous or related to society. The hypothesis is analyzed in three phases here .Each phase demonstrates the different stages in the growth and development of „individualism.‟ This is discussed against the background of the different texts chosen for each phase. This article attempts to specifically portray the struggle of four protagonists, namely (Kira Arugounova of We The Living, Equality 7-2521 of Anthem, Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart and Ezeulu of Arrow of God) against two different kinds of claustrophobic societies: Rand‟s Communistic Society of Soviet Russia and Achebe‟s Ibo Society of Nigeria, both of which smother the life of the individual. Both Rand‟s and Achebe‟s novels highlight the theme of “The Emergence of the Autonomous Individual.” Rand‟s individuals who struggle to assert their individuality in this phase are Kira Argounova, Leo Kovalensky and Comrade Andrei Taganova of We the Living; Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 of Anthem; Okonkwo and Nwoye of Things Fall Apart and Ezeulu of Arrow of God respectively. These individuals suffer and struggle, but their cause and manner of struggle vary. While Rand‟s protagonists attempts to break the fetters of Communism to which they are tied and liberate themselves to individual freedom, happiness and self fulfillment; Achebe‟s individuals, in this phase, struggle to maintain the dignity of their own Ibo society, which the white man ignorantly attempts to destroy. Though both the societies represent the collective, they are absolutely contrastive in nature. But both the societies are common in their functioning, in the sense, that both societies control the lives and activity of the individuals to a large extent. Kira Argounova and Leo Kovalensky of We The Living and Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 of Anthem are portrayed struggling to combat the terrible tyranny of a paralyzing, dictatorial state on the one hand; while Okonkowo of Things Fall Apart and Ezeulu of Arrow of God are trying to break away from a traditional-communal bound ethos, and assert their own individuality on the other.

“When Knowledge is there, Other Things Follow”: The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria and the Making of Yoruba Muslim Youths

Among the religiously mixed Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria, the knowledge and values involved with being a Muslim are taught by both Muslim clerics in Qurʾanic schools and modern madrasas and by non-scholarly Muslims in different contexts. While some research has focussed on Yoruba clerics, little is known about the teaching initiatives of other Muslims. An important movement led by ordinary Muslims is the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (mssn), formed in 1954 to provide guidance to Muslim students in a predominantly non-Muslim educational environment. Since the 1950s, the mssn has engaged young Muslims in a series of socio-cultural, educational and religious activities aimed at encouraging young Muslims to engage with Islam, but which also equips them with the socio-economic skills necessary to operate in a modern, mixed religious world.

Rural-Urban Migration in Nigeria, Implication on the Development of the Society: Anambra State as the Focus of the Study

This paper examines the implication of rural- urban migration on Nigeria Society using Anambra state as focus of the study. Cities have been growing both through natural increase and through stampede from rural areas in Nigeria. People migrate to urban areas based on the prevailing conditions they fund themselves and the reasons for the migration vary from one individual to another depending on the situation that informs the decision to migrate. In most rural areas, the effect of rural-urban migration was a rapid deterioration of the rural economy leading to poverty and food scarcity. The cause of the phenomenon has been described as the push factors in the rural areas and the pull factors in the urban areas. The objective of this paper is to identify the implication of rural-urban migration on Nigeria society. It is a survey research. Thus, 1200 questionnaire were distributed among the selected local governments in Anambra State. The analysis was run using Runs test and mode analysis. The result of the analysis found the effect of people migrating from rural areas to urban centres on the society to include: increase in prostitution in the urban centres; increase in squalor settlement in the urban centres; and people are doing all sorts of odd jobs in order to survive in urban centres. The paper therefore recommends that the government should make and implement a policy on provision of functional social amenities such as electricity, pipe borne water etc. in the rural areas. Good schools and qualified teachers should be made available in the rural areas and establishment of industries in both rural and urban areas that will to an extent accommodate unemployed youths.