Space In Nigeria Research Articles

An assessment of the coverage of live-birth registration across space in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Birth registration is an important channel that allows children to be documented, providing them with legal identity and nationality early in life and protecting them against violence, abuse and exploitation. However, this privilege has been denied to millions of children, particularly in developing countries. Registration is limited in Nigeria with about three in every five births unregistered. Using data from three waves of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, we adopt a geostatistical model to assess the space-time variations in registration coverage across Nigeria and compute the exceedance maps at different probabilities. The findings indicate a North-South divide in coverage but with improved coverage over time across the country. The probability of attaining about 60% coverage is low in the northern part of the country. The generated maps provide guiding tools to the Nigerian government to set priorities in order to scale up birth registration coverage in the country.

Politicization of Hate and Weaponization of Twitter/X in a Polarized Digital Space in Nigeria

Hate speech on social media platforms during electioneering campaign has been institutionalized. The campaign hate-filled rhetoric continues unabated. Some have attributed this phenomenon to access to social media. This study therefore investigates the prevalence of hate speech on Twitter in Nigeria. Twitter API was used to generate data that was later content analyzed. Anchored on the technological determinism theory, the study revealed political periods saw the prevalence of hate speech and political, ethnic, religion and regional-based hate speech are the dominant themes on hate discourse on Twitter. Some regions in Nigeria weaponized Twitter to denigrate others while others used it to promote their agitation but in the process also resort to hate speech. The study argued that Twitter is just a technology in the hand of hate-filled people who used it to promote their bigotry and bile. This study recommends the development of a legal framework for the regulation of hate speech on social media. Also, the utterance of politicians must be guarded, and the electoral acts must be fully implemented.

Revitalizing a Traditional Market Space in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: An Analysis of Environmental Quality Indicators and Policy Implications

Traditional market settings in Nigeria have been observed to be poor in environmental quality and less conducive for human physical and economic wellbeing. The physical conditions of the markets have been used to draw conclusions in livability of the space. Policy options to revitalize the overall environmental quality of market spaces require users’ inputs. The study, therefore, examined the environmental quality of a traditional market space in Nigeria, specifically focusing on Odo-Ogbe in Ile-Ife, and explored the potential for policy interventions to revitalize the market. The study was carried out among everyday users of the market. Information obtained through questionnaire administration was the users’ socio-economic backgrounds and twenty-three variables having social, economic and environmental characteristics. Physical observation was also carried out for an all-inclusive environment assessment of the market. Using systematic random and purposive sampling techniques, 119 market users were selected for the survey. Results showed that, the majority of the users were married (64.7%), females (74.8%), who had one form of educational qualification or the other (89.9%). Using an index tagged “Users’ Environmental Quality Index” (UEQI), sixteen environmental quality indicators were rated to be important. Among these were “availability of electricity (UEQI=4.68)”, “availability of water (UEQI=4.52)”, and “clean and healthy environment (UEQI=4.18)”. The study recommended that the government concerned with city administration should pull financial and human resources together to provide facilities and services related to users’ environmental quality indicator data for effective revitalization of the market space.

Challenges of Shrinking Civic Space and the Path towards Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: Lessons from the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration

This paper examines the experienced challenges of shrinking civic space and the path towards sustainable democracy in Nigeria during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. It discusses the etymology and problems of shrinking civic space in Nigeria under democratic dispensation. The paper also highlights the potential consequences and some practical instances of shrunk civic spaces during Buhari’s administration. It goes further to link the concept, roles, setbacks and examples of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)and how they attempted to promote and safeguard civil space. The paper identifies the connectivity between Marxism and Liberalism theory in the Nigerian civic space and highlights the efforts made by these theories to address the shrinking of civil space. Furthermore, it presents a comprehensive analysis of the prospects and challenges of the civic space in Nigeria and provides steps for policy reforms as a roadmap towards achieving sustainable democracy. The researchers recommend amongst others that the government should prioritize transparency and accountability in its actions and policies. This could be done by promoting access to information and ensuring that public officials are held accountable for their actions and combating corruption. By promoting transparency and accountability, the government is most likely to build trust with citizens, strengthen democratic institutions, and create an environment conducive to sustainable democracy in Nigeria.

Traditional Birth Attendant in the Maternal and Child Health Space in Nigeria: Ancient Practices and Modern Recommendations

Background: Arguments on the usefulness of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) in maternal and child health care and the reduction of maternal and child morbidity and mortality indices or not, persist. This paper sought to explore the ancient practices of TBAs and to strike a balance to portray modern recommendations that would contribute to improved maternal and child health status. Methods: The method used was review of relevant literatures from open-access journals and google scholar data base, as well as research reports on variables of the subject in developing countries. Results: Findings revealed that the overlapping root of TBAs’ practice burden include poor social amenities, inadequate health facilities and services in rural areas where over 70% of the population reside. While evidencebased report showed that even when 93% of rural women registered for Ante-Natal Care, 49% were delivered at home by TBAs and 73% has sought help from them for retained placenta with bleeding. Also, 41% of women of child bearing age indicated that maternal and child infection is a risk associated with the patronage of TBAs, whereas 32.8% indicated that bleeding during and after delivery were equally risks associated with TBA-provided maternal health services. Such circumstances of service were associated with harmful practices with attendant health and medical complications to recipient mother and child. However, helpful ancient practices of TBAs include; home visiting to promote well-being of mother and child (9.84%), sitz bath (17.20%), encouraging breastfeeding up to 2years (18.90%) etc. The modern recommendations, x-rayed the remedial actions on the harmful practices and associated negative consequences to improving maternal and child health indices in Nigeria. Conclusion: For reasonable and sustainable reduction in the burden associated with the practices of TBAs in maternal and child health care in Nigeria, contextual focused training and continuous mentoring is a necessity.

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of monkeypox among medical/health students across media space in Nigeria

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of monkeypox among medical/health students across media space in Nigeria

Ensuring Safety of Patients in Complex Health Systems: A Focus on Primary Healthcare Service Relations in Nigeria

Patient-centered healthcare is a goal for all health systems. However, given the inherent complexities of the health system as one with many nonlinear and dynamic components, the safety of patients could be affected. Therefore, there is the need to study these complexities to manage them toward optimal service delivery. The present study is a qualitative inquiry into the complexities of primary healthcare (PHC) in Nigeria and effects on patients' safety across four PHC facilities in Enugu state in southeast Nigeria. It utilizes a framework that draws on the components of interprofessional collaboration, inclusive of health financing and health workforce satisfaction, to understand the complex PHC system and patient safety. The study findings show that the PHC system in the study area performs suboptimally on the three counts, which implies poor management of the complexities of the system such that patients are highly susceptible to harm. Making a commitment to addressing the shortcomings present in each of the three components will help to decomplexify PHC in line with the World Health Organization agenda of achieving resilient and strong health systems. Importantly, optimizing the psychosocial space in Nigeria's PHC by employing qualified social workers and other psychosocial professionals is crucial for patient safety and a range of psychosocial activities that can enhance job satisfaction of health workers.

Knowledge, attitude, and perception of monkeypox among medical/health students across media space in Nigeria

Background: Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the Monkeypox virus (MPXV). Although monkeypox existed and declined in the past, its re-emergence is simultaneous with the rise in cases recently.Methods: This study utilized a non-interventional, anonymous, self-administered web-based survey through a descriptive cross-sectional design to collect data from medical/health students (undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students). The E-questionnaire was administered from 22nd July to 5th August through social media, and the data collected and extracted through an excel spreadsheet was analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0.Results: A total of 203 respondents were obtained from 22nd July to 5th August, out of which 109 (53.7%) were females, 92 (45.3%) were males with 18-25 years (63.5%), 25-30 years (26.6%), <30 years (7.4%) and <18 years (2.5%) age groups. Of the total respondents, 94.1% have heard about monkeypox before, 59.1% believed that monkeypox could be managed, 80.8% believed that monkeypox is zoonotic but can be transferred from human to human, and the majority (60.1%) are aware of the symptoms of monkeypox.Conclusions: Medical/health students across social media show a relatively high knowledge of the Monkeypox virus with significant knowledge gap regarding the evolving epidemiologic and clinical manifestations, and the variety of components implicated in monkeypox transmission. Nonetheless, the knowledge is to be sustained and reinforced through continued awareness on social media and in rural areas with a high percentage of basic internet coverage and literacy. In order to direct proper surveillance, data collecting, readiness, and response operations, public health/surveillance capacities in Nigeria must be urgently developed.

Social Media Regulation, Freedom of Expression, and Civic Space in Nigeria

This study investigates the impact of the digital revolution on freedom of expression and civic space in Nigeria, particularly examining the role of social media regulation in the country's shift towards autocratization. Employing secondary data sources, the research focuses on key variables, including the government's approach to online content regulation, social media shutdowns, and capacity to regulate online content. The analysis reveals that the government's attempts to control the new media space go beyond silencing the press to outright repression, leading Nigeria towards authoritarianism characterized by reactionary tendencies. Moreover, the study finds that the combination of excessive social media regulation, a suppressed judiciary, and a weakened legislature may result in authoritarian rule in Nigeria. The paper concludes that disobedience to court orders and the use of state institutions against political opposition contribute to the erosion of democracy, highlighting the importance of a balanced approach to social media regulation to protect freedom of expression and maintain a democratic society.

The significance of rural markets as a public space in Nigeria

The signs and symbolic meanings of public space in Nigeria as perceived by the users relied on the existence of strong relationships between the people and their environment. This study centers on the users' articulations, opinions, and views to public space such as traditional marketplace for the flourishing and sustainable development of indigenous people in South-West, Nigeria. This study adopts quantitative and subjective ways to elicit the views and opinions’ appraisals of the marketplace users and the term marketplace as a thirdplace. The findings reveal marketplace as a place of cultural inheritance, social arena for users, aesthetically oriented zone and a thirdplace, forming an integral component for the future rural neighbourhood planning and development in Nigeria.

Founder-flush effect found in Vibrio cholerae by MLVA of Nigerian samples

Introduction: We analyzed the multilocus variable tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) genotypes from DNA of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 patient isolates from Nigeria collected by the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research between 2016 to 2021. Findings: Sixty distinct MLVA genotypes were observed among the 144 Isolates. There were two large clonal complexes (CC) of related genotypes that differed by change at a single locus. The locus with the most alleles was P5. Each genotype is represented by the number of repeats at each of the five loci, in order. The first CC was observed from 2016 to 2019, but not afterwards. A single genotype of the first CC was observed in 2016, 5 genotypes in 2017, 6 in 2018 including 2 previously observed in 2017 and 1 in 2019. The second CC was observed only in 2021. Three genotypes - 8,4,6,18,y where y = 33, 34 or 35 – were observed in isolates collected at multiple locations. These genotypes were observed in 8, 7 and 7 of the 11 outbreaks, respectively. All three genotypes were present in Gombe, Plateau and Jigawa. Only one outbreak did not have any of these three genotypes. 15 of 18 other genotypes were unique to a location. In Gombe, Katsina, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Plateau and Taraba, an isolate with a founder genotype (8,4,6,18,y) was collected prior to isolates with genotypes unique to that site. Discussion: The genotypes of V. cholerae isolates collected from the outbreaks of cholera follow a founder-flush pattern. One or more genotype(s) [the founders] give(s) rise to multiple other genotypes as the outbreak expands and spreads [the flush] over time and space in Nigeria. Our data and analyses are consistent with the founder-flush phenomena. Keywords: cholera, MLVA, founder-flush, Nigeria, surveillance, Africa, Vibrio cholerae

Religion and Secularism in Nigeria: The Effect of Compulsory Dress Codes in the Educational System on the Right to Practice Religion

Abstract Though Nigeria is regarded as a secular state, there are two major religions which are predominantly practiced. Religious sentiments have permeated the societal space in Nigeria and often times the ardent practice and observance of religious tenets lead to perennial conflicts with governmental policies. It is one of the fundamental precepts of human rights that the religious belief of individuals should be respected, therefore the provision for the protection of right to religion in the national laws and some international instruments. The education system requires specific dress codes which must be observed. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the right to practice religion in Nigeria and the obvious conflicts between this practice and policies in the Nigerian education system particularly at primary and post-primary school levels. The paper addresses the scope of the right to practice one’s religion under the law vis-à-vis governmental policies in educational institutions.

Women organising in fragility and conflict: lessons from the #BringBackOurGirls movement, Nigeria

ABSTRACT Public protests, including women-led struggles, are increasingly gaining a foothold in many parts of the world in response to multiple crises and growing exclusion, in a context of fragility. In the global South, most public protests involve temporary, informal coalitions where people come together and participate in a one-off event. The fluid nature of political space makes sustaining protests elusive because of protest fatigue. Yet, the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG), a women-led movement, headed a long-term protest that focused on the rights of the girl child to education – a direct response to Boko Haram’s gendered terror tactics, in which girls were abducted, forced to abandon school, and get married. This article examines when and how movements crystallise into long-term programmes of action in fragile and conflict-affected societies where state–society relations are weak and government is considered to be unresponsive. We use the case of the #BBOG movement, one of Nigeria’s intense social media-driven and women-led action, to examine the mix of pressures it faced, its characteristics, and strategies in situations of fragility, conflict, and closed political spaces. We identify four key strategies that the #BBOG has deployed to keep members coming, garner international support and sympathy, keep pressure on the elite in a safe manner for the movement members, and ensure an independent funding regime for durability and impact. This article finds that #BBOG was able to navigate fragility and the closing civic space in Nigeria by challenging the failure of government to address insecurity in the country, transcending societal barriers including gender, religion, and political class, transnationalising their movement, self-funding, and using social media strategically.

Democratic deliberative space? Assessing the features of online news commenting space in Nigeria

Democratic deliberative space? Assessing the features of online news commenting space in Nigeria

COVID-19 Pandemic and Small-Scale Industries in a Local Geographic Space of Nigeria: An Assessment of the Impact of Strategic Interfirm Alliance

The outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic has brought with it stagnation in all sectors of the economy, unemployment and loss of jobs, threats of recession, and annihilation of industries across the world. This paper examined the impact of strategic interfirm alliance on small-scale industries (SSI) amid the threat of COVID-19 pandemic in Nsukka, a local geographic space in Nigeria. A survey research design and a questionnaire survey of 82 SSIs were used in the paper. The data for the paper were analyzed using descriptive statistics while tables and percentages were used to illustrate the results. Results in the study revealed that 15.47%, 22.45%, and 44.20% of the respondents have experienced relative increase, increased, and significant increase, respectively, in COVID-19-induced challenges on their operations. The paper also showed that 24.81%, 25.01%, and 34.64% of the industries have experienced relative increase, increase, and significant increase, respectively, in their operations following their use of alliance, while 5.06% and 10.48% have experienced relative and significant decreases. The paper suggests that SSIs in Nigeria should adopt/institutionalize the use of strategic interfirm alliance in their operations in order to survive the COVID-19-induced challenges which have distrupted their production flow.

Archaeology in the Public Space in Nigeria

Nigeria, with over 200 million people, covers an area of 923,768 km2 and it occupies the eastern section of the West African region (Figure 1). The regions of Nigeria have prehistoric sites spanning from the Early Stone Age through the Middle Stone Age, the Late Stone Age/Neolithic to the Iron Age and the beginning of urbanization. Several historic empires, states and polities developed within the geographical area now occupied by Nigeria and had left archaeological relics.

Youth language in virtual space in Nigeria: Multimodal affordance, indexicality and youth identities

AbstractVirtual space expressions contribute to the proliferation of African youth lingo within the Nigerian environment. However, beyond the sheer accumulation of lingual features, virtual space in Nigeria is also a site for the projection of both modern and indigenous youth identities, and for the deployment of sundry communication codes and multimodal affordances. This article explores this twin deployment, first as a way of broadening the sociolinguistic profile of African urban and youth languages, and second as a platform for examining aspects of youth identity formations in the Nigerian setting and how these intersect with the larger linguistic and sociolinguistic environment. Employing the methodology of content analysis, the article establishes youth language practice in virtual space in the Nigerian environment as not only multimodal, but also as indexical. Data samples are drawn from multiple discussion threads onNairaland, a Nigerian youth news and entertainment blog that is hugely representative of the virtual space youth speech community in the country. The article concludes that virtual space and multimodal affordances enable the projection of hybridized and sometimes nondescript youth identities and alter-egos, as well as a display of communicative usages that appear distinctively African.

Rethinking Data Protection in Nigeria: Gaps and Opportunities

The crux of data protection is the reassurance that the wall of protection we have built around our personal information remains intact and that whoever wishes to get through those walls must approach us, first and seek our permission to use our data for the purpose(s) only of which we give them permission. In Nigeria, data protection is a very significant issue; partly because the public is not well educated on its importance and majorly because specific and comprehensive legal frameworks to better the nation’s data space is absent and all these combined is a threat to most bilateral relationship between Nigeria and other nations. This discourse becomes very important following the diverse threats to the Data Protection space in Nigeria and the adverse effects of these on Nigeria. It is significant to consider feasible solutions to these threats, for the ultimate gain of all sectors in Nigeria.

The church in Nigeria and political economy of youth unemployment: A pragmatic approach

Nigeria has over 57% of its population as youths. The nation is rich in human and mineral resources, yet the level of youth unemployment continues to rise and to pose serious socio-economic and political threats. The aim of this study was to highlight the strong link between the high level of youth unemployment and the rising tide of violence and criminalization of the public space in Nigeria. In other words, we argued that the youth routinely took out their frustrations in violent and criminal forms. The study was set in Aba, city of Abia state, which is arguably the largest commercial town in the south-east region of Nigeria. It is also synonymous with violent and criminal social breakdowns. This empirical study adopted a multi-phase sampling technique for the data collection procedure, including the distribution of questionnaires, extensive library research and personal observation. By implication, both primary and secondary sources were used. The results show that youth unemployment was on the increase and government efforts alone were inadequate to solve the problem. In conclusion, the all-hands-on-deck approach was advocated. This entailed that the visibility of the church at almost every level of community life, especially at the grass-root level must be used as a vital platform to reach the people. Thus, it was recommended that the church should actively tap into the multifarious professional capacities of her members and use them as resource persons to creatively tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Contribution: This article contributes to the concept ‘faith seeking understanding’. It includes a systematic and practical reflection, within a paradigm in which the intersection of social sciences and theology generates a transdisciplinary contested discourse.

Spatial prediction of childhood malnutrition across space in Nigeria based on point-referenced data: an SPDE approach

Malnutrition remains a leading cause of child mortality in Nigeria. The spatial analysis based on areal level approaches could, in reality, conceal variations at smaller units. Using point-referenced data from Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, we quantify the prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children in Nigeria at 1.63 by 1.63km spatial resolution, and compute the exceedance probability maps for stunting, wasting and underweight at 20% threshold level using the stochastic partial differential equation approach with Bayesian inference based on integrated nested Laplace approximation. Results show divergence prevalence of the malnutrition indicators among children living in neighbouring locations and that the prevalence of stunting and underweight increase with age. The prevalence of stunting was uneven among children living in Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states with more concentrations in the northern fringes of some of the states. Except for few locations in about three states, the probability is more than 90% that the prevalence of stunting in all parts of the country exceeds 20% but this was not the case for wasting. The findings can assist in location-specific policy formulation and implementations.