Urban Nigeria Research Articles

Socioeconomic causes of child labor in urban Nigeria

Drawing on interviews with 1,535 children (aged 8–14 years) in urban Nigeria, this study introduces two new measures of child labor—child's ownership of business and control over earnings—to supplement the conventional use of a child's hours of work and to create a wider understanding of child labor. It examines the causes of child labor and how these measures vary by parental socioeconomic status. Study of this relationship is important for a deeper understanding of the varying patterns of child labor, as well as for clarifying the cultural and economic socialization of children. Our findings show that children of parents with higher socioeconomic status are more likely to own businesses rather than assist parents. These children are also more likely to keep and spend their work earnings. Our results also offer strong support of the poverty hypothesis and the socialization theory, which are often used to explain child labor in developing societies. Furthermore, our results indicate that children of paren...

Spatial patterns and insecurity in urban Nigeria

As a result of the unprecedented level of insecurity in Nigeria due to gang-related violence, this study examined violence-related crimes (armed robbery, the ‘area boys' phenomenon and communal/street clashes) and security situation and coping measures across different spatial patterns in urban Nigeria, Ibadan city. Ibadan is the second largest city in Nigeria, after Lagos. Three hundred residents participated in the study: 184 males (61.3%) and 116 females (38.7%). They were aged between 14 and 30 years, with a mean age of 22.4 years (SD = 5.20 years). Three focussed group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews were used to collect data from participants, who were randomly selected from 12 localities in three density areas of Ibadan (low, medium and high). Results revealed that males were in the majority (61.3%) compared to females (38.7%). In addition, demographic attributes also conformed to spatial pattern: Muslims were in the majority in high-density areas while Christians were in the majority in the low- and medium-density areas. Low-density areas had better housing qualities, including accessibility to good roads, than high- and medium-density areas, and consequently high crime rates. Also, results showed that violence-related crimes were spatially patterned: the prevalence and incidence of armed robbery was highest in the low-density areas, while the prevalence and incidence of ‘area boys' was highest in high-density areas. Communal/street clashes were common to all density areas. Police ratings in terms of accessibility and effectiveness were poor for all density areas. Coping behaviours differed according to spatial patterns: low-density residents used more high-walled fencing, dogs and security guards while vigilante formation was common among high-density residents. Other security-related information and recommendations have also been discussed. Keywords: crime network, gang-related violence, insecurity, housing density, youthsJournal of Psychology in Africa 2005, 15(1): 65–722

Urban women's use of rural-based health care services: the case of Igbo women in Aba City, Nigeria.

This study addresses the quest for rural-based health care services among women in urban Nigeria relying on a large qualitative database obtained from 63 Igbo women living in Aba, Nigeria. Results indicate that urban Igbo women of different socioeconomic and demographic characteristics utilize the services of different rural-based health care providers-indigenous healers, traditional birth attendants (TBAs), faith/spiritual, western-trained doctors and nurses as well as chemist shopkeepers-for conditions ranging from infertility, through child birthing and abortions, to swollen body, epilepsy, bone setting, and stubborn skin diseases. Major attractions to rural-based therapists were the failure of urban-based health services to provide cure, perceived mystical nature of conditions, need to conceal information on therapeutic progress and/or the nature of specific disease conditions, belief in rural-based therapists' ability to cure condition, and affordability of the services of rural-based health care providers. Findings underscore the critical implications of service characteristics, cultural beliefs, and the symbolic content of place(s) for care seekers' patterns of resort. We suggest that need exists for policies and programs aimed at making health care services in urban Nigeria more responsive to care seekers' socioeconomic and cultural sensitivities, integrating informal health care providers into Nigeria's health care system, and strengthening public health education in Nigeria.

Rethinking Contraception in Africa in the Era of HIV / AIDS / Reconsideration de la contraception a l'epoque du VIH / SIDA

Rethinking Contraception in Africa in the Era of HIV / AIDS / Reconsideration de la contraception a l'epoque du VIH / SIDA

Indigenous Waste Management Practices among the Ngwa of Southeastern Nigeria: Some Lessons and Policy Implications

Despite large investments that have gone into meeting the challenges of effective waste management in urban Nigeria, there is little evidence that such efforts are having their expected impacts. Consequently, much attention has been drawn to the need to evolve more sustainable waste management strategies. Drawing on data from in-depth interviews among the Ngwa of southeastern Nigeria, some useful indigenous solid and liquid waste management techniques, in the search for solutions to the current waste management crisis in urban Nigeria, have become evident. These indigenous techniques and practices, which include ingenious and careful waste segregation and sorting, selective burning and burying, composting and conversion, etc., offer scope for meeting the challenges and addressing the limitations of current waste management in urban areas, especially if they are supported by appropriate inputs from modern technology.

Interactions between patent medicine vendors and customers in urban and rural Nigeria.

Patent medicine vendors (PMVs) supply a large portion of the drugs used by the public in African countries to treat their illnesses. Little has been reported about what actually transpires between PMVs and their customers, but nevertheless, concerns have been raised about the potential for abuse of their position. This study conducted 720 observations of PMV-customer interaction in 444 medicine shops in both the metropolis of Ibadan and the rural town of Igbo-Ora in Oyo State, Nigeria. Each interaction lasted 2 minutes on average. A quarter of the customers shared their illness problems with the shop attendant, 9% presented a prescription and the majority simply requested items for purchase. Most customers (73%) were buying drugs for themselves, while the remainder had been sent to purchase for another person. The former were more likely to be adults, while the latter were more often children and adolescents. The most common PMV behaviours are: selling the requested medicine (69%), giving their own suggestions to the customer (30%), asking questions about the illness (19%) and providing instructions on how to take the medicine (21%). Only three referrals were observed. The large number of specific drug requests was evidence of a public that was actively involved in self-care, and thus the major role of the PMV appeared to be one of salesperson meeting that need. A second role became evident when the customer actually complained about his/her illness, a practice associated with the more active PMVs who asked questions, gave suggestions and provided information. These PMV roles can be enhanced through consumer education, PMV training and policy changes to standardize and legitimize PMV contributions to primary health care.

Management of Childhood Febrile Illness Prior to Clinic Attendance in Urban Nigeria

Parents and caregivers often try various treatment modalities for their sick children before bringing them to clinic. Many community-based studies have documented home and self-treatment practices, often with the aid of patent medicine vendors, but less is known about prior treatment behaviour of caregivers who actually reach a government clinic. This study, therefore, aimed at documenting the treatment provided by caregivers prior to their attendance at a public hospital. Beginning in April 1996, a year-long study was conducted among 1,943 sick children and their caregivers who attended the largest government-owned paediatric hospital in Lagos, Nigeria. The major complaints mentioned by the caregivers included fever, cough, and diarrhoea. Most (89%) caregivers had administered some form of medicine to the child prior to the clinic visit, and on average, 2.5 medications had been given. Associations were found between major complaint and type of medicine given: fevers were associated with antimalarial drugs and analgesics (antipyretics), cough was associated with cough syrup and analgesics, while diarrhoea was associated with antidiarrhoeal drugs. Although one-fifth of the children had received an antibiotic, provision of antibiotics was not associated with a particular complaint/illness. Since caregivers appeared to use perceived complaints/illnesses as a treatment guide, this can form the basis of safer and more appropriate recognition of illness and home management. In addition, the information obtained in this study can be used for training clinicians to inquire about home management and, thus, for making more informed decisions about their own treatment and prescribing practices.

The Road to Italy: Nigerian Sex Workers at Home and Abroad

ith these unsettling words, Andrew Billen of the New Statesman weaves a tapestry of images that throw light on a new and disturb- ing trend in the Nigerian commercial sex industry—the omnipresent over- seas or international sex worker who, in her eternal state of undress, leaves very little to the imagination. It is this same breed of sex worker that af- fords her European client services, the likes of which could hardly have been imagined, let alone spoken, a decade or two ago in Nigeria. She is a new-age prostitute who elevates (her) customer (to) 'king.' 4 So who is this woman and why does she do what she does? The key to understand- ing who and why, I argue, can be found deeply buried in the past, but it is also firmly rooted in the present as well. She is an emblem of tradition- al notions of sex and sexuality as well as an inherently corrupt and col- lapsing nation. Her story begins not in the streets of Siena or Florence, but in rural and urban Nigeria, 5 canvassing all of the junction towns 6 in- between. In an attempt to navigate the contours of this uniquely Nigerian in- stitution of commercial sex work, I provide two short case studies—vari- ous in ethnicity (the Igbo and Edo), locality (rural Nigeria and international prostitution), and in the very way the practitioners define and construct their work. The story that emerges, I argue, situates the Nigerian sex worker variously as independent and autonomous; interdependent and, at times, completely dependent on her new age madam (boss, if male), mama, or Mama Lola, as the case may be.

Obesity and height in urban Nigerian women with breast cancer.

To examine the relationship between obesity, height, and breast cancer in an urban Nigerian population. Between March 1998 and August 2000, we conducted a case-control study of hospital-based breast cancer patients (n = 234) and population-based controls (n = 273) using nurse interviewers in urban Southwestern Nigeria. The study did not find a significant association between obesity (BMI >/= 30) and breast cancer among all women (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 0.87-2.62) pre- (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 0.56-2.60) and post-menopausal breast cancer patients (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 0.78-4.31) in multivariate logistic regression analysis, while increasing height was positively associated with the risk of breast cancer among all women (OR = 1.05, 1.01 - 1.08), pre- (1.06, 1.01-1.10) and post-menopausal women (1.07, 1.01-1.13) for each cm. Age, irregular period, and early age of onset of periods were also found to be significantly associated with breast cancer risk. This study failed to demonstrate an association between breast cancer risk and obesity while showing that height is positively associated with risk of breast cancer in urbanized Nigerian women.

Maternal height, birthweight and cephalo pelvic disproportion in urban Nigeria and rural Malawi.

Cephalo pelvic disproportion (CPD) has been attributed to short stature. It has been suggested that nutritional supplementation to promote linear growth would increase birthweight and the risk of CPD. The objective of this study was to examine the factors associated with CPD, with particular reference to birthweight, stature, parity and maternal age. Factors associated with CPD were analyzed using data abstracted from a detailed early hospital report from Ibadan, Nigeria and from a recent rural pregnancy study conducted in the Shire Valley, Malawi. In Nigeria, of 107 CPD cases admitted to hospital in Ibadan during 1953-54, 79% were women > 20 years. Birthweight values increased significantly with age and parity. In 19.6% of cases, the baby had a low birthweight (< 2500 g). In Malawi, among the 1523 women delivering, the incidence of CPD was 2.3%. Of the 35 cases of CPD, only four were adolescents. Birthweights increased with increasing parity, age and height (p < 0.001). In 6.4% of CPD cases, the baby had a low birthweight. Nulliparity (OR 4.0; CI 1.7-9.3; p = 0.0001), birthweight >or= 3400 g (OR 4.6; CI 2.1-10.0; p = 0.0001) and height <or= 154 cm (OR 3.8; CI 1.8-7.9; p = 0.0003) were associated with an increased risk of CPD. Adolescent mothers were less likely to experience CPD (OR 0.3; C.I. 0.8-0.9; p = 0.03). Adolescents are not at high risk of CPD. Nutritional supplementation of girls and adolescents should not be discouraged for fear of increasing the risk of CPD by improving birthweight. When CPD is present, it may result from childhood rickets and calcium deficiency.

Maternal height, birthweight and cephalo pelvic disproportion in urban Nigeria and rural Malawi

Maternal height, birthweight and cephalo pelvic disproportion in urban Nigeria and rural Malawi

Knowledge and Perception of Child Sexual Abuse in Urban Nigeria: Some Evidence from a Community-Based Project

This study reports some baseline findings from a community-based project on the incidence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in two Nigerian urban centres. The study focused on low income, non-elite, occupational groups. Data were generated through in-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), and survey questionnaires (SQs) involving 958 respondents. About 38% and 28% of female and male respondents respectively reported being initiated to sex before the age of 18 years. Majority of the respondents condemned CSA acts like rape, date rape, child prostitution and incest. However, evidence of gender-role stereotyping, which puts girl-children at reproductive health risks of these and related acts, seems widespread. (Afr J Reprod Health 2000; 4[2]: 44–52) RESUME Connaissance et perception de l'abus sexuel de l'enfant dans les agglomerations urbaines au Nigeria: Quelques evidences d'une etude basee sur une communaute. L'etude fait un compte rendu des decouvertes de ligne de base a partir d'une etude basee sur une communaute et qui porte sur l'incidence de l'abus sexuel de l'enfant (ASE) dans deux centres urbains nigerians. L'etude s'etait concentree sur des groupes professionnels non-elites qui ont des salaires peu eleves. Les donnees ont ete recueillies a travers des interviews approfondies (IA), des discussions en groupes cibles (DGC) et des questionnaires de l'enquete (QE) aupres de 958 repondants. Environ 38% et 28% de repondantes et repondants respectivement ont signale qu'ils ont ete inities a l'acte sexuel avant l'âge de 18 ans. La majorite des repondants ont condamne les actes d'ASE comme le viol, la prostitution de l'enfant et l'inceste. Toutefois, il semble que le clichage selon les roles de sexes qui predispose les filles aux dangers de la sante reproductive de ces actes et des actes connexes soit bien repandu. (Rev Afr Sante Reprod 2000; 4 [2]: 44–52). Key Words : Child sexual abuse, adolescent, intercourse, exploitation

Family Food Income, Dietary Intake and Nutritional status of infants in rural and urban Nigeria.

The following study investigated the relationship between family food income and dietary intake and how these affect the nutritional status of infants. The study was also aimed at identifying differences in the pattern of these relationships among rural and urban subgroups within the same society. The sample comprised 211 Nigerian infants and their families. The mean age of the children was 23.8 months with a range of 19 to 32 months.

Determinants of Women's Employment in Urban Nigeria: the Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors1

AbstractThis paper examines the determinants of women's employment in Nigeria, by focusing in particular, on the impact of socio-cultural factors such as ethnicity, religion, age at marriage, age difference between spouses, and family structure. Data are drawn from the 1988 National survey of 10,266 women in nine major cities of Nigeria, and logistic regression models are used to estimate whether or not a woman was employed during a five-year period. After controlling for other variables, findings indicate that: (i) the higher the age at marriage, the more likely that women are to be employed; (ii) Moslems are significantly less likely to be employed than Christians; (iii) the larger the age gap between husband and wives, the less likely women will be employed; (iv) women in both the extended family households and polygynous unions are more likely to be employed than those in nuclear and monogamous unions; (v) women in both the Igbo and Yoruba ethnic groups are significantly more likely to be employed than their Hausa counterparts; and (vi) a higher level of education and use of contraception increase the likelihood that women are employed. The results suggest that an expansion of educational opportunities, later marriages, and promotion of contraceptive use are needed in order to increase women's labor force participation, and consequently, improve women's status in Nigeria.

Determinants of Women's Employment in Urban Nigeria: the Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors 1

Determinants of Women's Employment in Urban Nigeria: the Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors 1

Weight-height relationships among eight populations of West African origin: the case against constant BMI standards.

To ascertain whether constant body mass index (BMI) standards are appropriate in genetically similar populations. Data are taken from the International Collaborative Study of Hypertension in Blacks (ICSHIB), an observational study. Individuals of African descent who were included in ICSHIB. Subjects lived in eight different sites: Barbados; Cameroon (urban and rural); Jamaica; Manchester, UK; Maywood, IL; urban Nigeria; and St Lucia. Weight and height. Constant BMI standards effectively argue for the constancy of slope of the linear regression equations of In(weight) on In(height) across populations. Linear regression results indicate that the height/weight relationship implied by the use of constant BMI standards, is not found in these populations and that there is much variation across groups. The use of constant BMI standards in classifying individuals prognostically may be unwise, even in genetically similar populations.

Female-Headed Households, Poverty, and the Welfare of Children in Urban Brazil

This study describes female-headed households and analyzes the determinants of poverty among these households and the consequences for children. Data are obtained from the Brazilian Pesquisa National por Amostra de Domicilios (PNAD) for mostly 1984 and some other years. Historically Brazil has always had a large proportion of female headed households in part due to the plantation culture and the need for male labor migration to plantations. This study focuses on households in Recife Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. These metro areas reflect a variety of socioeconomic conditions. Two alternative definitions of headship are compared and caution is urged in using too narrow a concept of headship in situations such as in this study where households depend upon more than one income earner. Income levels varied across the three regions. Mean income in Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre was similar. Income in Recife was much lower. There were more female headed households per capita in Recife. The general trend was that the lower the relative income the higher the likelihood of being a female headed household. Female headed households with minors and Moynihan-type households had the greatest proportion in the lower income groups. It is concluded that 1) female headships were heterogenous; 2) the extent of poverty of female headed households varied by region and was the greatest in the northeast; and 3) female headed households were poorer because females earned less than males. Lower female income was related to lower hours worked and the tendency of women to work in occupations that paid lower salaries or to hold low status occupations. Employers were faulted for failing to hire women for higher paying jobs or to pay salaries on par with male counterparts. Single-mother headed households in urban areas were 3.4% of households but these households with children tended to be poor and were designated a vulnerable group. Not all female headed households were vulnerable particularly those in the south. Interventions should be targeted at children who are most at risk for poor school attendance at ages 10-14 years in poor female headed households. Children were worse off in Recife where there was a stronger association between poverty and female headship. Only children in female headed households had decreased school attendance with increasing age. The analysis of the poverty effect on children indicated different impacts in each metro area.

Community attitudinal noise survey and analysis of eight Nigerian cities

A field study has been carried out in urban Nigeria the results of which show that most urban dwellers consider noise an environmental nuisance, with 65% of all respondents in eight cities feeling highly or moderately disturbed by it. This feeling appeared strongest in the more densely populated areas such as Lagos and Onitsha. The greatest source of noise nuisance was found to be electrical audio equipment (radios, stereo record players, public address systems and so on). Noise interfered with people's sleep and other activities during rest periods, especially at night, and most people (84%) wanted the noise nuisance legally controlled. Many aspects of the results of the survey are in line with those of similar surveys undertaken in other parts of the world. In comparing such results with ours there was not sufficient data to reach a definite conclusion on whether or not differences with respect to the perception of noise do exist between the major races on account of physiological and cultural differences.

Assessment and possible control of endemic measles in urban Nigeria.

Measles remains as a serious problem of infancy and childhood in the developing world, despite the availability of a vaccine. Increasing urbanization is changing patterns of endemicity. A survey of measles in an urban area of Nigeria, using a rapid assessment approach, was carried out to characterize measles in this community. An annual incidence rate of 11.8% among under-fives was found, associated with an acute case fatality rate of 3.3%. This level of endemicity was two orders of magnitude greater than that suggested by official case reports. An endemic, rather than epidemic, pattern was found over the six-month period of the study. Vaccine efficacy was estimated at 26%. Risk factor analyses showed the major risks for measles to be clinic attendance in the month preceding disease, households with more than one mother, and having under-five siblings. Measles itself was the principal risk factor for malnutrition and against survival. Improved understanding of measles epidemiology and risk factors are prerequisites for effective control. Possible strategies should include vertical vaccination efforts in addition to routine programmes.

Children's Street Work in Urban Nigeria as Adaptation and Maladaptation to Changing Socioeconomic Circumstances

One fundamental value of the modern societies in which schools endogenously emerged is self-orientation. This contrasts with the familistic collectivism that has been identified as providing a basis for the social structure of traditional societies such as Nigeria. An important strategy of child socialisation in Nigeria and other West African countries is responsibility training. One of the objectives of the investigations reported in this article was to determine the extent to which an aspect of responsibility training, namely children's street-trading activities, typifies a collective orientation and the extent to which it was consonant with schooling, which largely promotes a self-orientation. The data consist of interviews with: (1) 2000 children from different parts of Nigeria, both traders and nontraders; (2) 100 of the children's teachers; (3) 224 women traders; and (4) 117 experts (such as doctors, social welfare officers, policemen, and religious leaders) who, in their professional roles, interact with young street traders. It is concluded that: (1) street trading had some value-compatibility with schooling in the early stages of the modernisation process in Nigeria, but that it has become maladaptive as a result of both changes in the conditions of trading and changes in the system of school assessment; and (2) early childhood working experience, as exemplified in street trading, may constitute one of the important mechanisms by which the traditional value of familistic collectivism is maintained and the self-orientation inculcated by prolonged schooling is reduced.